I'm Your Villain
by jumbyxjenkins
Summary: ...The point is irony. And the definition of irony, is being reincarnated into your own OC. The OC you gave a tragic backstory and constant struggles because you thought it would be a good story. Well, now, that sh*t you thought up? That story? That's your story now. Why? Because f*ck you, that's why. So yeah...f*ck me, and f*ck irony, and f*ck My Hero Academia. (Tokoyami/OFC)
1. An Accident & A Trope

NOTES::

Hi! This is just a little something I am working on. I have a lot of ideas, but I usually don't write things without a solid plan, for this: I have no solid plan. This is just for fun. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

 **Prologue: Isn't it Ironic?**

What is _irony?_

Alanis Morissette said it was like rain on your wedding day...or a free ride when you've already paid.

Personally, the reality of bitter irony is much more cruel...

Wait- wait- wait, let me go back a few steps. I am like you. Or...rather I was. I was a woman in my mid-twenties. I was a giant fucking nerd. A bigger nerd than most mind you...A math geek who went to college to be an engineer, and I did it. I had a great research job, and a great boyfriend, and life was decent I guess.

I would come home and I would watch TV, and read some books, and I read a _lot_ of fanfiction. Like _a. Lot._ I loved dreaming up my own scenarios. Usually self-indulgent OC inserts that were loosely self insert (i.e. the me I wish I was, but with an edgy tragic backstory). Of course, my OC always got the character I wanted to bone (of course, why else bother daydreaming about it, right?), usually some slow burn, character driven romance with minimal plot, cause I was never the most creative person in the world, I just dreamed up what I wanted to read, and I am a sucker for a good romance.

And super hot smut.

But that's beside the point.

The point is _irony._ And the definition of irony, is being reincarnated into your own OC. The OC you gave a tragic backstory and constant struggles because you thought it would be a good story. Well, now, that shit you thought up? That _story_? That's _your_ story now. Why? Because fuck you, that's why.

So yeah...fuck me, and fuck irony, and fuck My Hero Academia.

 **Chapter 1: An Accident, and a Trope**

My best friend Bonnie always joked that I was one lab accident away from becoming a super villain. I guess that's another example of irony, cause that's basically what happened.

Best I can figure out is that some radiation shielding around the particle accelerator got damaged or moved or something...maintenance gone wrong. I felt the warmth on my arm and I _knew._ You see, you don't actually feel radiation, not really, so by the time the area starts to feel warm, you are well beyond the lethal dose.

Another thing about radiation poisoning? It's a helluva way to go. It's slow. And painful. Your hair falls out, your organs fail a cluster at a time, and your skin basically melts away from your body. I guess it was just preparation. All part of the tragic backstory.

Part of me wonders if this new life isn't just the hallucinatory product of reading far too many self-insert reincarnation fanfictions in combination with my brain matter slowly decaying in my skull.

I had always heard stories growing up that my grandmother almost died in childbirth with my mother. After that, she always said that bleeding to death wouldn't be a bad way to go. It didn't hurt...It was peaceful, like going to sleep. In the end, death was like that. The seven days of agony leading up to the death weren't fun, but that final day? The pain stopped. It was just like my grandma said. It was like I went to sleep, and fell into darkness, but then a few moments later, there was light again. Blinding artificial light, and my eyes were blurry as hell and the light hurt, and I felt like I was being _manhandled._ I realized I was crying, and looking around me I could see figures that looked like people, but they were _huge._ Why are they so big? Why aren't my eyes working? Why am I crying?

I was being handed to one of the giants, But on the way there I glanced around and saw a person on what seemed to be a hospital bed, there were others all around her, yelling in a language I didn't understand. And there was _red._ So much _red._ I finally acknowledged the slowing beeping of a heart rate monitor as I was put into the arms of a man, and I realized as he looked down at me, and I could see the outline of a blurry smile on his face, and felt the warmth of tears on my cheeks, that they weren't giants. I was just _small._ A _baby._ I looked up at the blurry face above me as the heartrate monitor flatlined, and the man clutched me tightly to his chest and choked out a sob. His arms were shaking, and he was looking beyond me, looking at the woman on the bed. _The mother._ My _Mother._

I didn't know this woman, she had just given birth to this new me, but my mind saw _my mother._ The woman who raised me all by herself. The strong woman who saved people for the entirety of the day before spending as much time as she could stay awake with me at night. My mother was amazing. And I would never see her again, but almost worse than that, was the fact that I would never get to _know_ this one. And then, I cried in earnest.

We stayed in that hospital a while, I needed checkups, and I guess my new father had to take care of my mother...Well, what was left of her. I couldn't even fathom the kind of pain he was in. I found myself hoping and praying he wouldn't blame me or resent me. I couldn't handle that. I listened and watched the people around me, and came to the conclusion that they were Japanese. Thank God for grad school... and anime. If only I had bothered to learn the language. I can identify it. I can count to ten. But beyond that, I had nothing. I mean, at least I get to grow up around it to learn it, right? It just sucks being a twenty-five year old mind in an infant body. It sucks even worse because I can't understand the people around me. Or read the signs.

I tried to stay quiet as my father carried me out, buckling me into the carseat and getting into the car himself. I heard his sigh as he looked at the passenger seat beside him, but then he turned around back to me, and since my eyes were already beginning to function a bit better, I could see the slight smile. Bittersweet. I don't know if he was trying to be comforting to me or himself. Probably both. The ride was silent for a while, but then he started talking. I couldn't understand a bit of it, but his voice was smooth, even when he started choking up. Maybe he was talking about his wife?

He carried me around the home, feeding me from a bottle (weird) and then finally tucking me into a crib, continuing to talk softly to me. He gently rubbed my head and whispered, "Meiko..." and I got the feeling that that was my name now. My name was Meiko. I was an infant. This was my father. And this was my home.

I got lucky. I kept my mind. My knowledge from before. My memories, but I also got the benefits of a child's mind. The elasticity, the pension for absorption. Between that and the dedication of my father to my learning, I was getting the hang of Japanese in no time. And with that, came understanding. I expected to be born again the day after my death; it felt like there was no time at all between death and rebirth. But no. The year was actually 2207, as I could read from the calendar next to the clock in the living room. But it felt so _wrong._ The TV I watched cartoons on was just an average flatscreen LCD like I was used to, and my father used a basic smartphone. Shouldn't the technology have _improved_ in 200 years? Could I be in a different reality? An alternate timeline? Is the physics here different? What else could have changed? I was pondering these question when I heard my father's voice, talking on the phone turn alarmed. "Wait, what happened downtown?" Silence, "It's still on? What channel?"

And then he walked over to the remote on the table, while my two-year old body was confined to the crib in front of the TV, he came over to me with a smile, his phone pressed against his shoulder, "Hey there, princess, I need to change the channel a minute, okay?" I nodded, and he changed the channel to the news before plopping down on the couch beside me, and my eyes went to the screen, and in that moment, I realized the full brevity of my situation. Because on that screen was a person I had seen countless times. A face plastered across t-shirts and posters around my home. Except he wasn't animated. And he wasn't voiced by Chris Sabat, which disappointed me more than it probably should have. He stood in the wreckage of a building, flames behind him and injured people looking up at him; The voice rang out across the living room, "Never fear! Because _I_ am here!"

I was broken from my daze and reminded to breathe when I heard my father's voice again, speaking into the phone, "Oh man, I know! All Might is the greatest! I am just glad I get to see it live for once!"

My mind was racing as I stared at the screen. _All Might. All Might is on the TV. No...That can't be right. This can't be real._ I look down at my chubby little fingers gripping the rail harder than I realized. _I_ was NOT _reincarnated into a fictional world. This is...this is a cheesy fanfiction plot? This can't be_ real!

Apparently, I whimpered, and I was visibly distressed, because I heard a quick "Gotta go" before my father rushed to kneel before me, brushing his thumb across my cheek, "Hey, don't be afraid Meiko. All might is a hero. He saved those people because he is super strong! And one day, you might have a great quirk that will let you be a hero, too!" I could basically feel the panic showing on my face, and he saw it too, cause he quickly gave a smile, "But it's okay if you don't. I never had a quirk, and I never let it bother me. Your mother though..." He chuckled, a sort of wistful wonder appeared on his face, "She was something else. She called hers "Light Bending". She could pull all the light out of a room and leave it in complete darkness, or she could expel light from around her, lighting up a dark room. When she really focused, she could bend the light into illusions. Make people see whatever she wanted them to see..." He sighed, "She woulda been a great hero." He tilts his head, and looks at me with a smile, "But that wasn't what _she_ wanted. She wanted to paint, and have a family." A silent tear escapes his left eye and he wipes it away, giving me a comforting smile once more, "She wanted to marry me, and have you, and paint the beauty in the world."

I managed a smile at him, and it seemed to lift his spirits, and he continued, "So what I am telling you is...no matter if you have a quirk or not. Or if you want to be a hero, or a grocery store owner or whatever...whatever you want. I'll be proud of you. You're my Meiko. You're my bright light, and I'll always be there for you." He leans forward and kisses my forehead. And then back onto his heels, "It's about lunchtime. What do you say? You hungry?" I nod, and he disappears into the kitchen, giving me a moment alone to process. I am living in a self-insert fanfiction. Probably. All I know is that I am in the world of My Hero Academia. All might is the number one hero. I may not even be in the right time period to follow the story I knew. I wouldn't know for sure until years from now. _If I even find out at all? I could live out my life without ever running into Izuku Midoriya or any of the UA class 1-A._ I felt the pang of disappointment at the thought of that. What was the point of living in the world of My Hero and not even getting to meet the characters I adore? And most importantly... I could have a quirk. _I could have a quirk_.

Holy fuck.


	2. Child in a Quirky World

I was thankful for several things. The first: that this world was not all that different from my previous one. Technology was similar. Physics worked the same (besides quirks of course). The second: My father is a kind man. He runs a grocery store, and loves to read, and loves that I love it too. He also likes to push me to pursue art and music. I live a comfortable and leisurely life. He gives me a steady supply of notebooks, which I fill up quickly. I fear losing my memories and my knowledge, sure, nuclear engineering isn't a big deal in this world, but I don't want to lose it, you know? In this world they stopped at bombs. No power. Wasted potential. Maybe someday I can share my expertise? I write down my memories. My knowledge, and particularly everything I remembered about My Hero's canon. Third: Thank God I ended up here, and not somewhere like Tokyo Ghoul.

There was a key difference I found out though. (Through strategically asking my father to use his laptop for some silly flash game, and then googling like a maniac once he left me alone.) The most blatant being that UA (and other hero training schools) were Universities. Not High schools. It was considered too dangerous a profession to be trained in until adulthood. The high schools did their fair share of hero prep though, not much different than middle schools, but they usually had extra courses on hero law and hero history and quirk biology et cetera. The hero universities also usually provided graduates with a college degree as well, liberal arts, basically. Enough to not be completely hopeless in the event of injury or other forced retirement.

I couldn't help but glance upward at that. Not that I don't _agree_ with the idea that kids be spared from life endangering training until adulthood (and let's be real here, college students can hardly be considered adults, but it's better than fifteen year olds destroying their bodies) but it just seemed very suspicious, like the fanfiction writer determining my fate wanted to avoid the underage tag. I glare at the invisible camera, 'The Office' style, _I'm onto your game._

I hear my dad coming back down the hallway and quickly exit everything except the cutesy snake ripoff that reminded me vaguely of the many years I spend on neopets as a youngster. My final score is abysmal, but hey, I'm three, it would be more suspicious if I were good at it, right? "Hey there, sweetie, you have fun?" I nod. "Good. You wanna watch some TV while I go downstairs and check on something in the store?"

"Sure!" I reply, and he lifts me out of the computer chair, sitting me on the floor to waddle down the hallway on my own legs. As we passed the bathroom, I stopped and pulled on his hand, our cat Chihiro was a little asshole that liked to rip up toilet paper, so we had to keep the door closed, and I was still too short to open the door myself, much to my chagrin. But, at least I was thankful he didn't have too many questions when I basically potty trained myself as soon as I could walk. My guess is a single dad was just happy he didn't have to change diapers anymore. But yeah, I was _not_ going to wear diapers any longer than I had too. It feels fucking gross. Just, _ugh._ I shudder. I mean, I have to have a little stepstool in the bathroom, cause I am short, but what else is new? I was short in the previous life too. I had a step stool to get the clothes out of the laundry because I couldn't reach the bottom.

When I come back out, he is giving me that bright smirk of his and it makes me happy. I have so few memories of my previous father, but I remember him smiling like that too, and that brings a mixed bag of emotions. I realize that I am trying to engrain this father deep into my mind, like I want to keep every memory. Because to me, fathers die. I got a step-dad when I was in highschool, and he was a very important part of my life, and eventually, I started to think of him as my father. I felt like I was betraying my _actual_ father. And now, with _this one,_ I feel like I am betraying both of them. I sigh silently as we walk to the living room and he puts me in the playpen in front of the TV. "So, what do you wanna watch, little one?"

"News!" I reply, trying to sound cheerful.

"The news, huh? Doncha think that's a little heavy for a three year old?"

"Three and a half!" I reply. Half years are important when you are this young, I remember that from my boyfriend's nieces and nephews. I miss them. I miss _him._

"Oh right. Sorry. My bad." He laughs, "You sure you wanna watch the stuffy old news?" I nod vigorously, hopping up and down. He shakes his head, but does so laughing, turning the channel onto the news and kissing the top of my head gently, "I'll be right back. Don't do anything silly." I nod, and hear him exiting the apartment as the news plays out in front of me. I watch it as often as I can, hoping for some sort of world event that sounds familiar and can point me to where I am in canon. All I have been able to determine is that All Might is the number one hero, and Endeavor is number two, but hasn't been there too terribly long. So, pre-canon... assuming of course it's the same story and not a completely alternate timeline or something.

Ugh, when will I find out? Being a child is boring as hell. I am trying to use my brain elasticity as much as I can, _while I can._ Most days, dad will leave me at the library, because he can't really afford a sitter, and he and the librarian are friends. Then I have the chance to read whatever I want. I have been learning languages as much as I can. Not as many options as I'd like in this little library. Japanese, English, Chinese, (which I have been working on) and sign language. I found those books on my last trip there. I had to stifle a laugh, remembering my own idea I had for a My Hero story. I never hashed out a lot of the details, but one of my characters was mute, so all three of my OC's knew sign language. _Ah well, it's not like it would hurt to learn JSL too._

* * *

Not long after that, Uncle Ryu, my father's best friend mentioned wanting to open his own dojo for mixed martial arts and discipline, and I jumped on the chance to say I wanted to take classes if he did. So, at the age of four, I started training my body in a way I always quit in my previous life. I had made it to an orange belt in Karate, and a blue belt in Taekwondo, but I never stuck with it. I always got bored or discouraged and gave up. This time, I had to. In a world full of heroes and villains, I needed to be able to fight, with or without a quirk. It took some convincing to let a four year old girl take MMA with God knows who, but I promised my dedication, and Uncle Ryu promised to take care of me, so my father relented.

Not long after I had begun to train my body, something else kicked in too. My father came into my room to wake me up by turning on the light, just like he always does. And I groaned at the sudden brightness, pulling the covers over my head, before I heard my father gasp, "M-Meiko?"

I heard his concern and threw the covers off, raising to look at him, but finding the room dark. Not even the morning light was coming in through the holes in the blinds, It was total darkness. "I- I...did I do this?"

I heard my father shuffling across the carpet, feeling out with his hands as he approached the bed, grabbing my arms as he sat near my feet, "I think so... this is what your mother did after all." He placed his hands over my fists still clenched around the edge of the comforter, "She was able to hold the light she stole in her fists. Try letting them go."

I looked down to where my hands should be, and I could feel...something. It felt sort of warm. Like the sun on your skin. Sure enough, when I opened my hands I could see the light concentrated on my skin, so bright, like a blinding white light, and I looked across to my father who was staring at me in wonder. But the light wasn't leaving my hands, so I gestured, like I was trying to toss it, and the light returned to the room, just as it was. I swallowed hard, "I'm...I'm a human deluminator!"

Dad stammered, "You're what?"

I instantly realized my mistake, Harry Potter didn't carry over. "Never mind, I'm... like mom?"

He smiled, and then of course, the tears started. "Yeah you are. She'd be so happy." I smiled back at him, "You wanna try it again? See if you can do it on purpose?" I nodded, and looked at the lights, focusing on them and making fists and to my surprise, the lights went out. Opening my fists, the light returned.

"That's so amazing Meiko!" He pulled me into a tight hug.

"Didn't you tell me that Mom could make illusions? Do you think I can do that too?"

He gently pulled away and held me at arm's length, "I am sure, but I know she told me it was really hard to do. You'll have to practice hard. You'll have to train your quirk as well as your martial arts. Will you do that?"

"Yup!" I squealed. _Maybe I could do this child thing._

"Great." He patted the top of my head, "I have to go open the store. You should get ready, Uncle Ryu will be here soon."

When he closed the door, I kept turning the lights on and off again. Not very useful for combat but _cool. So cool._

* * *

Then the next year, I got to go to kindergarten to hang out with a bunch of _actual_ five year olds. Yippee. I knew it was going to suck. To have to pretend to be a child. To have to pretend to _like_ children. I wasn't prepared. Also, kids weren't _really_ allowed to use their quirks outside of their own homes unless they had a work permit to do so. Many did, but it was frowned upon. I was having fun with real _superpowers._ I went from removing all the light in room to being able to remove all lights in the house, or pick and choose the lights, and more recently, like, the past month recently, I have been able to make illusions. Not complex ones. Apparently my mother could make the entire room appear different. She could make you believe you were on an expansive beach when you were really in a tiny one bedroom apartment. So far, the best I could manage was the image of another person, and only within about fifteen feet of my body. And _that_ was hard. Mostly, I liked to play pranks on people near the house. Falling potted plants, holes in the ground, ghostly apparitions. It was harmless and amusing. I know Uncle Ben wouldn't have approved, but I was enjoying myself... Not like it was a great power or anything, why should I bother with great responsibility?

I went into the little classroom holding my dad's hand. Of course, that teary bastard cried when he left me there. _Shit, am I sure my dad isn't Midoriya? They both seem to have crying quirks._ No of course not, then I would be Meiko Midoriya, and I am not. I am Meiko _Ryuniko_. Er, Ryuniko Meiko, damn syntax reversals.

When I got there, I was sort of expecting us all to go around and introduce ourselves like we always did in new college classes, but no. It seems most of these kids went to the school's preschool daycare thing that my dad couldn't afford. Everyone but me already knew everyone else. I didn't really care too much. I acknowledged my name when it was called, but that was about it. Also, in this world, every kid looked like a fucking anime main character. All sorts of hair colors and quirks, and strange voices. I couldn't even tell who was going to be interesting. They all seemed interesting enough. I probably should have listened to the whole role, listened for names I knew, but... what can you do? Next time.

I kept to myself until recess, which accounted for most of the day, considering it was kindergarten and all these kids had ludicrous amounts of energy. I made my way toward the back corner of the playground, trying to find a nice secluded corner to read, or practice kata, or _something_ useful. That was until I heard something that stopped me in my tracks.

"Why are you being so mean? You're making him cry, Kacchan!" I whipped my head around to see a kid in a light blue with green hair crying, standing in front of another kid on the ground. Across from them, a kid in a black shirt, flanked by two other kids. "If you keep on hurting him, I'll...I'll stop you myself!"

"You wanna pretend to be a hero? You don't stand a chance without a quirk, _Deku_!" the blond creates an explosion with his fist in his palm, and the other two sprout wings and creepy extendo-fingers, respectfully, and then the three charge at him.

In the back of my mind, I knew this was part of canon, and I should let it happen, probably, but I just couldn't stand by and watch adorable baby Izuku get the hell beat out of him by Bakugou, I moved my hands before I fully thought it through, creating a misty visage of Samara, summoned from my old memories of watching the Ring for the first time and how much that scared the shit outta me. I sent the image at Bakugou and crew, crawling right by Midoriya, who, understandably, screamed and fell down.

Bakugou screamed, "What is that thing?"

One of his friends, "I don't know! Run!" And the three of them ran into the treeline near the playground, my Samara illusion disappeared around fifteen feet from me just like I thought it would, and I approached the trembling Midoriya on the ground. I looked down at his teary green eyes and frazzled greenish-black hair and smiled, he looked horrified, and I felt a little guilty.

"Wha- what was that thing?"

I smirked, extending my hand to help him up, "A trick of the light."

He put his hand in mine as I pulled him to his feet, "Is that your quirk?"

"Yeah, not really that useful in the long run. At least not where I am now." I smile at him as he reaches down to help the other kid to his feet. He mutters a 'thank you' and runs across the playground, up near the front where most of the other kids are.

He turns back to me, extending his right hand, "I'm Izuku Midoriya, nice to meet you!"

"Meiko Ryuniko, believe me, the pleasure is mine." _Midoriya, you adorable little shit. Your voice sounds exactly as it should and your fucking CHEEKS._

"Oh um..." He pauses for a minute, probably not knowing what to say. Then, suddenly his eyes turn bright again, "So your quirk is that scary girl? How does that work? It's so cool!"

I snap out of my fangirling, albeit briefly, "Well, my quirk is bending light. So I can make it brighter, or darker, or I can make illusions, like the scary girl, or like this" I hold my hand, and imagine an orange butterfly in my hand, letting it fly into the air. Midoriya follows it's movements all the way up until it vanishes.

"That is...so...cool!"

"Thanks. I am glad you like it. They aren't real. Just tricks of the light, they can be touched, or affect anything physical, I can mainly just use them to startle people."

"I still think it's awesome!" He shakes his little fists up and down as he talks, punctuating each syllable with excitement. _I can't handle the fuckin' cute._

I laughed, "Of course you do."

"So um..." He starts, but trails off, I raise an eyebrow, and he continues, "Are we friends now?" He says it so hopefully, but so timidly that it rocks me. I _knew_ Bakugou was his only friend up until U.A. and this couldn't have been too long since that friendship turned sour. He didn't have any friends. He wouldn't have any friends. _And neither would I._

"Yeah." I give him a thumbs up, "Yeah I guess we are." _Time to meddle._

* * *

Over the next few years, I had a friend in Midoriya. I often contemplated the repercussions of my presence in his life. Honestly, I didn't see how my actions could have too negative of an effect on him. He and Bakugou still had the same relationship, Midoriya respected and adored him and saw him as a friend, but Bakugou always thought he saw himself as better, and thus, tried to take him down. I knew this...whatever they had... was important to both of their character development arcs, so I generally stayed out of it. He usually had insults for me as well as Midoriya, but I didn't care, I just ignored him. I didn't trust myself to insult him back. I had a veritable cornucopia of expletives in my mind, but none of those were appropriate for use by or against a little kid. Even if he was a little shit. Most school days were spent taking notes on memories of my previous life, trying not to draw attention to myself or Midoriya, and keeping a steady mantra of _Don't call Kacchan a Twat. Don't call Bakugou a cunt. Don't ask him if he tops or bottoms. Don't._

What I didn't stay out of, was the other parts of Midoriya's life. We studied together. We had dinner at each other's houses. I knew his mom. He knew my dad. He was my best friend, and I did what I could to help him. Whenever he talked about being a hero, I told him not to give up. This world was a little different, he had to keep his hope even through three years of highschool before UA. I wasn't gonna take the risk that he lost faith before then.

What would probably provide the biggest impact on canon was that I dragged him to Uncle Ryu's MMA class. I figured the sooner we got his body prepared to handle One for All, the better control he would have over it and _maybe_ I would get to see fewer broken Izuku bones. I loved his character in the anime and the manga, but now... now he was _real._ He was my friend. He made me terrible cakes on my birthdays and always had a shoulder ready when I needed to cry about my past life. He never pushed to know why I was crying, he just...was there. His skin was always warm but his hands tended to be a little cold and clammy. He had more freckles on his right cheek than his left because of how he walked to school. His muttering was nearly constant, but somehow comforting. He adored All Might with everything inside of him but couldn't understand why I hated Endeavor so much. Whenever we were out and about and whenever heroes were in a fight nearby, he would grab my hand and run so that he could watch and take notes. I saw him every day. I saw his smiles. His tears. And he saw mine. He was like my little brother, and if I could save this beautiful boy one bit of pain, you bet your sweet ass I was gonna do it.

* * *

 _If I had known then what I know now, I never would have interfered, I never would have introduced myself. I never would have made him care for me and my father just to have us taken away. It was cruel to him._

 _You see, I_ _ **thought**_ _I had this scenario figured out. I was just an average person in an average position added to this world. I thought it was going to be simple. I thought my meeting of Midoriya that day was how I was supposed to entwine myself with the story. But it wasn't, because I wasn't only following the canon of My Hero Academia, I was also following the loosely connected bits of headcanon I planned out for the fanfiction I never found the time or inspiration to actually write. I didn't realize it for so long because I never really hashed out the details of it. I had three OC's, and the main character was the one who I never really hashed out the past of. I had little tidbits of ideas, but nothing concrete. She was going to have a basequirk that had something to do with light. And then, sometime, several years before canon, shit was going to get real bad for her. Well, in the summer before the last year of middle school, that time came._

* * *

It was the summer before the last year of middle school, and I was excited to see the changes in canon as a result of the UA High to UA University change. My dad, Uncle Ryu and I were camping on Mount Kurama, outside of Kyoto. I personally hated camping. I hate bugs. And sweating. And _nature._ But they loved it, and those two had this crazy mega bromance that I wasn't about to mess with, so I pretended like a good girl. We were miles from civilization, no cell reception, and no indoor plumbing. The good life, or so they claim.

They were talking by the fire as the sun started to set, and I got bored, so I decided to practice some kata near the edge of the clearing. I was doing a move I had done a thousand times, a roundhouse kick, but a 180 degree turn to land facing the opposite direction, but spinning 360 degrees on one foot. It wasn't hard. I had great balance. Even on this uneven terrain. But, in the center of my turn, right after the kick, a spider that would make Australians quake in fear dropped from a web above my head, hovering inches from my face, and I screamed. Of course I screamed. Who wouldn't? But I lost my balance, and my foot hit the ground behind me hard. I remember the sharp snap of a tree limb, but I didn't fully comprehend the ramifications until I was laying on my back and there was sharp pain and pressure all throughout my chest. I glanced down and I saw the sharp edge of the limb. I saw it covered in blood, _through me._ And I couldn't breath. I could _feel_ the blood gurgling around in my lungs.

I turned my head towards camp and I saw my Dad and Ryu running towards me, as if they were in slow motion. _Am I in shock? Am I going to die? I can't die AGAIN. Not before Midoriya becomes a hero! This isn't fair!_ I heard them yelling, Ryu first,

"No! Don't pull it out! She'll bleed out even faster!" I looked to my father, and the absolute horror on his face as he clutched at the limb in my chest, trying to hold pressure, but the blood was just running through his fingers. "Stay with her, I'll go get help! She'll be okay!"

I looked into his eyes, and his voice said I'd be okay, but his eyes told the truth. I had died once. I knew how it felt, and I knew I was dying. He ran, and my eyes fell back to my dad. My sweet dad. "No, no. You can't go! You're all I have left! I can't lose you!"

I wanted to comfort him. To tell him it was fine, but when I opened my mouth, all that came out was a strangled cough and quite a lot of blood. _Shit. That didn't help at all._

"Please! Please!" He screamed, "Anyone! I'll do anything!" He sobbed and I was feeling so cold. But very suddenly everything got colder, and an eerie wind swept through the clearing. Then I noticed it. On the other side of me, a black face, with red eyes and red lips, shining feathers on its head like a crown. When it spoke it was a beautiful soothing voice of a woman,

"Really? Anything?"

My dad looked to her, I could see him in my peripheral vision, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. "Yes! Anything!"

"Alright," She started, her red lips parting into an open smirk, "As I am, I can't leave this mountain. And I very much want to...So here is the deal, I save her..." She directs her glowing blood red eyes to me, and then back to my dad, "And you share your body with me, so I can see the outside. Bind your soul to mine, and I will save your precious child."

 _No. No. Mount Kurama...that means the Tengu. Winged Demons. And my father making a deal he didn't think through. This is...this is my_ story. _This is my character's tragic backstory._ I tried to scream. To tell him not to do it. That it wasn't worth it. I knew what happened as a result of this _deal._ I couldn't let my father do this. _I couldn't._ "No...don't" I managed in a choked whisper, but my voice was overridden,

"I accept your terms!" He screams, removing his right hand from my chest to grip her long taloned fingers.

"It's a deal." She states, her smirk widening into a wide smile, revealing stark white serrated fangs. She moves her hands over me, and dark energy envelops me, evaporating the branch, and stitching my chest back together. After a few moments, I could breathe again, and then I watched her body disintegrate into a pile of ash, and a grey cloud of smoke. A cloud that immediately flew into my father's mouth.

He fell back onto the forest floor, and I sat up to grab him, trying not to focus on the fact that my blood was all over us both, "No. No. Why did you do that? You have no idea what you just signed up for!" I was crying again, holding onto him.

Several minutes later, he woke up again, his arms curling tightly around me, "Meiko... Meiko you're okay. You're really okay."

I swallowed hard, _What's done is done. The only way this is worth it is if he thinks he saved me. I have to at least give him that._ "Yeah dad, I'm okay."


	3. So, I'm Eddie Brock Now?

Uncle Ryu arrived with EMT's about an hour later. _Yeah, I would have died._ Dad fed him and them some story about a wandering monk with a healing quirk. _Most likely a story thought up by the demon inhabiting his body._ But I didn't say a word. I let the professionals take a look at me, wanting to take me back to the hospital just to be sure everything healed back correctly. It did of course. Satan's whore working her black magic is sure to be damn good healing, right?

Dad and I took a taxi home, with Ryu volunteering to go back to camp and get our stuff. In the back of the cab I keep sneaking glances at my dad. When would it start? Would it be tonight? Or would she wait til later to start rampaging? What do I _do?_

We step into our apartment over the grocery store, and I can feel his eyes on me, and when I turn to him, I see the teary expression, and the love in his eyes, and I break. My tears fall too, and he is pulling me into his arms. "No matter what happens now. What happens to me...It's worth it to know that you are alive. I love you Meiko. You are everything to me. I am _so_ glad you are okay."

"Thank you, dad. I love you." I whimper as I clutch him, before slowly pulling away, "I am gonna go to bed okay? See you tomorrow."

"Of course, princess. I'll see you tomorrow."

The door closed, and I laid in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I have to figure this out. _I made sure to remember My Hero Academia. I didn't bother to remember my own daydreams about it._ I haven't thought about my characters in this story for the fourteen years I have been in this world. _Let's see, what were my plans?_ I didn't have many. I had little scenes. Little tidbits of backstory. Ideas. Nothing really solid. No plan to get from point A to B to C. I had three main characters. One was the central character though... _Me._

I sighed deeply at that.

Back to the point. Me. Meiko Ryuniko. Of course, I never planned a name for her. I never made it that far...but what did I plan? A light quirk she was born with. I never fully planned that either. It wasn't the main idea. She was based on a union quirk. Because the point of her was to bone the emo birb boy.

Mmmm...Tokoyami. I hadn't even...

Nope! Nope! More important things right now! Like the fact that I based this character on the Demon Hunters in World of Warcraft. Because she was _blind._ But the demon who was residing inside her body allowed her to see with what was basically spectral sight. She took the demon from her father, after he was killed by heroes.

I never fully thought out _why_ her father made the deal, just that he did, and didn't stipulate all the terms. So when he was asleep, she would take control completely, and she would do the only thing that brought her happiness, seeing people in pain. She killed indiscriminately in his body. But the heroes didn't know that. They saw a rampaging murderer. They caught his face on camera. Chased him down. A reckless hero trying to apprehend the villain overuses a shrapnel type quirk, killing him, and blinding the character in the crossfire. And in an effort to keep the demon from being released to wreak havoc with someone who _wanted_ to hurt people, the girl... _me..._ somehow cons the demon into a new deal as she lays there bleeding. A better planned deal.

The other details are scattered, a blindfold that kept the demon forcibly contained. The sharing of feelings so that pain could be used as a motivator to protect and obey. Her feelings were magnified tenfold to the demon. The idea was eventually she would come to understand and respect the demon. Forgive. Work together for a common goal, and use her full quirk without fear of losing control of her own body. Could I do that? I wanted her to be brave and strong and a total badass. Three things I _was not._

And more importantly, _what do I do now?_ I know that sometime soon, that demon is going to wait until my father is asleep, hijack his body, and go kill an unknown number of innocent people. How can I just let that happen? If I know something like that is going to happen, and I do nothing? How can I possibly live with myself? How could I call myself a hero? I have to make him stay awake. I have to figure out that binding spell that was in that blindfold. I have to _do something._

Before I could think of a plan or anything I was in the hallway, throwing open the door to his bedroom, "Dad! Don't go to sleep! Just-"

It was like my heart stopped beating when I looked around his room, with no signs of him, and an open window. _No. No no no!_ "Fuck!" I scream, "What do I do? What can I do? I don't know anything about the occult, I don't know how that fucking blindfold worked I don't-" I look around the room frantically, looking for a sign. Looking for _anything_ and my eyes fall on the wall above his bed. The hook with the tie. _The tie._ His wife tied it for him once, the night they met, and he never untied it so he wouldn't have to learn how to do it. When she died, he hung it up, as a reminder of her. "Maybe it wasn't anything occult? Maybe it was just the tie itself? And how much it meant to him? Worth a shot!" I grab the tie from the wall and head out into the night.

Several city blocks and a lot of adrenaline later, I start to hear sirens, and I look up and see the news chopper overhead, and I follow its spotlight. _I'm too late. I spent too long thinking._ I sprint to the scene, and I can't handle it. There is blood _everywhere._ The dead and dying lying all around the street at the feet of my dad, but he's not my dad right now, he isn't even aware of what is happening. His arms and legs have changed, morphed into inky black enlarged appendages, and he has _wings._ Large, and black and feathered, but, they are so shiny, like oil. But it's his face. His face, but _her_ eyes.

I reach the barrier the heroes have put up and I hear someone yell that they can use lethal force. _No. I can't just let them kill him. He is a victim too!_ I try to run past the barrier but I am pulled back by large arms in a colorful jumpsuit, "No, miss, you have to stay back it's dangerous!"

I act on instinct, Pointing up, and manifesting a falling piece of rubble, "Watch out!" I screech, and just as I thought, the hero lets me go to try and catch the rubble, I am already feet away when his arms just slide through the illusion. As I run through the blood, and hop over the bodies, I see the thin hero step up to the other side of the barrier, I see the shards of glass forming on his arms, and I know. This is it. But I am here. _I can stop it._

"No! Don't you don't understand, don't do it!" I am almost there, ready to wrap the tie around his blackened wrist and hope for the best, My fingers graze his arm as I hear the screaming from the heroes.

"No, what are you doing? Hold your fire! There's a girl!"

"I- I can't! I already released!"

I look towards the voices, and the thin hero wearing a look of absolute terror. I barely even noticed the shimmering shards of glass before they hit. _Fuck._

It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, actually. Maybe it's the adrenaline. Or the panic. But everything is dulled, and moving so slowly, but I feel his wrist still in my hand, and I hold tight letting him pull me down as he falls, if I lose him, I won't find him again. I clenched his wrist in my hand. Everything else was going basically as it was planned fifteen years ago. _My father was dead._ But I couldn't think about that now. No. I had a job to do.

" _Hey Tengu."_

" _Hm?"_ I heard her rich voice in my mind, this was it.

" _Since your host is dying, you should join me. I think it's the least you can do for costing me my father."_

" _Why would I do that? This isn't what I wanted. I'd rather go back to Kurama."_

" _What did you want then?"_

" _I wanted...something different. I wanted what the humans have. I thought it was the outside world. But it wasn't."_

" _You want to feel, right? You want to feel as a human feels? I can give you that. Make it part of the deal. You bind yourself to me, and you must protect me. You must lend me your aid when I need you, and obey my commands when I give them. You must be my eyes. In return, I will host you outside of your mountain. I will connect you not only to my body but to my feelings and my emotions, and you will feel them tenfold to account for lost time. All my joy. My longing, my wants and my pain. Everything that makes a human, human, will be yours. Do you accept?"_

She hesitates for a moment before finally answering," _I do. Do not make me regret this human."_ then, there was silence, and darkness, and I felt the ash in my hand as her influence fell away from his body, and I held my father's hand, and then, I heard him,

"I'm so sorry, Meiko." He coughs, "I didn't know. I didn't-"

"Shh" I speak, "It's okay. I know. I love you dad. I'll be okay. I promise." I feel his grip tighten ever so slightly in mine before releasing completely, and then I feel her. The smoke in my mouth that tastes like ink. The scratching in my lungs like a bong hit straight from hell, and then, just as my father before me, I fell asleep.

* * *

When I woke up again, the adrenaline was gone, and if I was on any pain meds, they weren't strong enough, because I was in _pain._ My eyes felt so sore, but when I tried to move them, I couldn't feel them moving. Only pain. _That's a wonderful sign._ And I felt wounds on my arms as well, I guess the glass had a wider range than I thought. There were bandages over my eyes, I could feel them wrapped around my head, but was I healing...or was I actually...?

" _ **You're blind. They pulled the mangled lumps of flesh from the sockets because there was no saving them. I thought about killing them for you, but after poking around in your mind, I saw that you**_ **knew** _ **this would occur. Mind telling me what is going on?"**_

" _Later. Are we alone?"_

" _ **No. Would you like to use my sight?"**_

" _Not yet. Thank you."_ I sucked in a deep breath and sat up in the bed, fighting through the pain. **Ugh. Stop that. I like the color of pain. I don't like** _ **feeling**_ **it.** I ignore her words and turn my head around the room, like it would make any difference. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

I hear some rustling, and then a man's voice, "Miss Ryuniko, I am glad you are awake. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better. That's for sure." I pause, _I have to know._ "Is my dad..."

"He was killed in the skirmish..." I hear his sigh, "Do you remember what happened, Miss Ryuniko?"

"Yes...up until I passed out of course." I clasped my hands in front of me.

I hear the sound of a chair scooting, and then I feel a warm hand on my forearm, "I feel like the best way to do this is to be blunt. Your father used his quirk to kill four innocent civilians and five pro heroes that tried to stop him. Six heroes were also badly injured. This makes him a _villain._ It is very rare that lethal force is authorized for a hero to use, but in this instance, it was the only way to stop him." He inhaled deeply, "The fact that you used your own quirk on a hero to try and stop the heroes from apprehending your father makes you an accomplice."

I swallowed hard, and I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. _What can I even say?_

The man continued, "In this report, it says that you told them to stop. You said, 'You don't understand.' Understand what, Miss Ryuniko?"

In a stroke of panic, I did the only thing I _could_ do. In the words of the Grinch, I thought up a lie, and I thought it up quick. "He didn't even know it was happening. He was a victim too."

"A victim of what?" He says incredulously.

"His own quirk. It..." _here we go,_ "My guess is it manifested late in desperation. The day before...I was in an accident. I was going to die in the woods, he was so worried, so frantic...that..something changed in him. He was different. He was something dark. He healed my wounds but he...wasn't himself. After I was healed, he didn't change back, he stayed that... _thing._ He was thrashing around, I was afraid he was going to hurt himself, or hurt me, so I did the first thing I thought of."

I swallowed hard, sort of impressed at how well these lies were coming together, "I had my father's favorite tie in my pocket. It was like a goodluck charm. His favorite thing in the world, and I wrapped it around his wrist, but before I could get it on the other one, it stopped. He changed back. I don't know why, but that tie...it... grounded him."

I could feel my throat choking up, even though I was speaking lies, It was suddenly hitting me that he was gone. Dead. Forever. I was alone in this world. The man spoke, softer this time, "Please go on."

"When he came back, he didn't remember any of it. So, I lied to him. I told him a wandering healer came by and saved me. He didn't question it. And when he looked at the tie on his wrist I told him not to take it off, that wearing that was a talisman the healer required."

 **You are quite good at this, young one.** I continued, "After the hospital, and we went home, we went to bed. I got up to get a glass of water, and thought to pop my head into his room to check on him, but he was gone. And the tie...it was wrapped up in the blankets, it must have slipped off in his sleep I..." I took a moment to take a breath, "I didn't know what to do, so I grabbed it and tried to find him...I..." I think I was crying, because my eyes felt like they were burning.

"I'm sorry, thank you for telling me. That...explains a lot." He was monotone. I couldn't tell if he believed me or if he just didn't care. I mean, regardless of intent or not, nine people were dead. Six more were hurt.

"It changes nothing, does it?"

"No. Even if what you say is true, and he wasn't aware...The facts are that he couldn't control his quirk and he killed _nine_ good, _good,_ people. I can maybe, _maybe_ swing your villain status and keep you from jail, but. You are still the orphaned child of a villain. There are laws that prevent you from being released normally."

"Why?"

"Because you are dangerous. What if you have your father's quirk, too? What if you harbor resentment towards the heroes that killed him?" I opened my mouth to interrupt but he spoke over me, "There is a group home for kids like you. That is where you will go."

"What about my Uncle Ryu? Can I see him?"

I heard his sigh, and I heard the sound of him standing from the chair, "The incident was broadcast live on TV and replayed several times throughout the day while you slept. The entire city saw what happened, and the official statement stands. He was a villain. You were his accomplice. Villains aren't allowed visitors, and I told your uncle and your friend that."

 _My friend? Midoriya!_ "Izuku was here? What did he say? What did you tell him?!"

"I told him the truth, that your father was a villain that killed my best friend, and that you interfered with the heroes and tried to help him." I heard him scoff, "Of course, he refused to believe me, adamant that you and your father were good people. Like his _family._ He refused to leave until he saw you, but I called his mother, told him that if he kept pushing this it would brand him as a villain along with the two of you."

I swear, if I could see, I would be seeing red, _how could he do that?_ "Izuku has nothing to do with this, you have no right to threaten him! He wants to be a hero, you can't ruin his chances of that!"

"If he wants to be a hero, then it's a good thing I did what I did, he doesn't need to be seen sympathizing with villains." He sounded so bitter, and I heard him walking towards the door,

"I'm sorry I couldn't get there faster..." He stopped walking. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your friend."

I heard his swallow even over the sounds of the monitors in the room, "Someone will be here to collect you once your injuries have healed." I hear some rustling and then I feel something light land on my legs, "There is your _tie._ Just in case." And then the door opens and closes and I am left alone.

I reach out and feel for the smooth silk of the tie. I know that it was black with small glittering purple accents that weren't too showy. But now, it wasn't anything. I couldn't see it.

Midoriya. What would this do to Izuku? Would this change his goals? No. He wouldn't let anything shake his love for All Might. His desire to save people. Maybe he would believe them? Maybe he would hate me?

There was a pang in my chest at the thought of Izuku, the character I adored and the boy I had called my best friend for ten years looking at me with anything but friendship and love. _I've hurt him. This will hurt him._

 **As much as I enjoy this flurry of emotions I get to test out, it's pointless. What is done is done. Yes, the boy was hurt. This** _ **may**_ **affect his outlook and thus his future, but there is nothing you can do about this now. These are pointless, trivial worries.**

 _Oh, then what, pray tell, do you suggest we do?_

 **We fly out that window and never look back.**

I scowl at her, er, at myself I guess, _No. If this is my story, then we have to meet the twins. They need me, and I need them._

 **Oh right, you promised you'd tell me about that?**

 _Through a stroke of the worst irony imaginable, I died, and was reborn inside of a story I made up, having to live the trauma I thought would make for a good read and a compelling character. Er, characters._

Suddenly, guilt hit me like a freight train, _Oh God, the TWINS! The childhood those two had endured. Because of me. Because I thought it up._

 **But. If you hadn't thought of them, they wouldn't exist in this world at all right? Just as I wouldn't exist.**

I smirk, _is that why you aren't being a violent mega bitch like I imagined you, you know you wouldn't even exist if I didn't imagine you?_

 **In part. Also, feeling as you feel, living as you live. It's** _ **nice.**_ **Even if I'm not in control. I like being along for the ride. Pain and fear were the only colors I could see and recognize for what they were, but now, there is so much more. I know, in your** _ **story**_ **as you called it, you were supposed to manipulate me with pain. It wasn't until later that you realized you could give me what I needed without the violence...Why did you decide to change that?**

I had to think for a moment, _Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to the pain or the emotional strain of fighting over my body with you. I know it changes the story, but I think it's better. The fact of the matter is, I am not the person I was supposed to be. I'm not as strong as she was meant to be. I don't know how to be brave. Or strong. I'm just some nerd who doomed herself._

 **You ran into a crime scene to try to save your father, even though you knew he was likely to die, and you were likely to lose your eyes. That seems like either bravery or stupidity.**

 _I... I don't know..._ I didn't know what to think about that, but before I could process, I heard the door open again, "Hello dear." It was woman's voice, sounding chipper and sweet, "My name is Doctor Rize. I am here to talk to you about your condition." The chipper voice fell at the end, and I knew why. I heard the click of her shoes as she made her way next to the bed, gently placing her hand on my right forearm to show me she was there. "The injuries to your eyes were too severe to repair. They were...removed to reduce the risk of infection. Once the sockets have healed, we will place glass replacements for you, to maintain shape and appearance, but you will be completely and permanently blind." She sighs and grips my arm, "I am afraid that not even bionic replacement eyes will be an option for you considering the damage to your occipital nerves. The glass went very deep, destroying the nerves that allow you to see. Honestly I was surprised there was no brain damage."

 _I knew. I knew. But it was still hard to hear._ "When will they be healed?"

"Just a few days most likely, there are supplements in your IV that speed up the healing process."

"Then you'll give me my glass eyes and let the police take me to their group home, or whatever they called it?"

I heard the exhale of breath, and I got the feeling that she didn't approve, "Just as children of heroes likely become heroes, children of villains usually become villains. But, I don't like that they don't give children like you the benefit of the doubt." She rubs her thumb across my skin, "The home isn't that bad. There are... a lot of children there who want to be just like their parents, the point is to keep them contained so they don't hurt anyone...But there are always children who don't deserve to be there." She pauses, "I heard you talking to the officer. You don't deserve to be there, but there isn't anything that can be done. You just have to find others like you and stick together..." She tightens her hand again, "And there will be counselors there to help you adjust to your...condition."

"Being blind?"

She obviously forces a laugh, "Yeah, being blind. But also, losing your parent...your home...your friends." I felt my body tense with the mention of Midoriya. "If you write a note, or, tell me what to write, I can get a message to him for you. He keeps stopping by, but staying out of the sight of the police. I know you want to speak to him before you go."

"I think I can write it. I just need a few minutes to figure out what I want to say."

"Okay, I'll be back in a little while. Press the call button if you need anything." I feel her move and then place a plastic box in my hand, and then the click click of her shoes as she leaves is followed by the closing of the door.

 **What are you going to say?**

 _I don't know. But, I need your eyes, and I need you to teach me how to use it._

 **Very well.** Then, I felt something strange, like the tingly feeling when I use my quirk, but it was just in my head, in the back, _The occipital lobe._ Things were still dark, but as I started to focus I could see thin grey lines denoting edges. Like, a sketch drawing, except, when I looked at my own hands and arms, I could see a faint peach handprint on my arm. _The doctor's handprint?_ Looking back up and towards the door, I saw the same peach color on the doorknob.

 _I don't understand?_

 **All living things emit an aura. The color of that aura depends on their feelings and motivations. Their energy will linger on things they have recently touched, or things of great importance.**

 _What is that peach color?_

 **I haven't been able to feel long enough to name it, but, it's the closest to the color you felt when you thought of the twins.**

 _Guilt...or perhaps pity?_ I look over to the bedside table and see a square that looks to be a notebook, and then a pen. I think. It's really strange looking at the world through one of those snapchat filters that makes it look like you have been sketched in pencil. _Wait, how can I see writing if all I really see are edges?_

 **Things that hold meaning usually glow with the intent in which they were written, or with the feelings with which they have been previously read. Brand new mass produced books give me pause though. I recommend used books. Screens are also problematic.**

 _Right._ I pick up the notepad and pen, seeing my own hand, _why don't I glow?_ And then slowly, I noticed I was glowing, a faint dark blue.

 **That color is the default for humans when they aren't feeling any particular emotion strongly. You didn't see it before you thought about it for the same reason you never saw your own nose before. It's always there. Always noticing it would be pointless.**

 _Hmm. That makes sense. Thank you._ I stare at the black pen in my hand and it's grey outline, tapping the tip against the notepad in the other hand. _What do I say?_

After several minutes of deliberation, I put pen to paper:

" _Izuku,_

 _After what happened, I couldn't just disappear without talking to you -without trying to explain. I know you saw the news. I know you are confused. I know you came looking for me, and you refused to believe what was said about my father and I. But you deserve to know that It's true. But it's so much more complicated than it seems. My father didn't have control of himself. He had no idea what was happening with his own body. But those people died at his hands and nothing could change that._

 _I had a chance to make a difference. I had the opportunity to stop him, but I hesitated. Because of my indecision and hesitation, my father lost himself, and innocent people were killed. I can't make up for that mistake and I have to live with that._

 _Regardless of intent, my father's last actions made him a villain, and that makes me the orphan of a villain, and the police have a special place for children like me. I am not allowed to talk to you, or Uncle Ryu, I am only writing this note because a doctor took pity on me and offered to get it to you. Wherever I go, I'll be okay, Izuku._

 _And more importantly, you'll be okay. You're my best friend. I believe in you. Never stop dreaming. Never stop trying to do the right thing. Never stop trying to be a hero. Do everything in your power. Dream big. Apply to UA. Train your body for the hero you are going to be. I know you'll be a great hero, because I know that if our roles were reversed in that moment, you wouldn't have hesitated. You wouldn't have stopped to think things over. You would have tried your hardest to stop him and saved all those lives, including his. That's what makes you a hero. Quirk or no quirk, you're my hero Midoriya._

 _I don't know when, but one day we'll meet again. I hope you won't hate me for my role in the deaths, or for leaving, or for being a shitty friend. I hope when we meet again, I'll be able to see your bright smile at me once again. Be good. Be strong. Be a hero._

 _Until then,_

 _Meiko."_

I folded up the note and laid it on the table to wait for the doctor to collect it. Soon things would be different. I would be taken to the group home for orphans of villains, and the several formative years I glossed over in my planning. I knew a few things. I would meet the twins. One was deaf, and one was mute; disabilities forced upon them by their terrible excuse for a father. We would bond as the few residents who didn't _actually_ want to be villains. Then there would be an incident, where the twins would be used as bait to draw in a retired villain who was friends with their father, and the only person they still cared about, he would be killed through reckless heroing, and the three of us would take the opportunity to escape the place.

Then, we would live on the streets. Trying to survive and helping who we could, when we could. Then we would get arrested and thrown into Tartarus until one of the people we helped finds Aizawa and boosts his doubts about the system, then he gets us out, gets us in his class, and tries to mold us into great heroes.

God, these next few years are gonna suck.

I sigh, leaning back against the pillow against the wall, _So, do you have a name?_

 **Illidari. It seems your inspiration for me extended to my name as well.**

 _That's pretty funny, actually. So, tell me...what can you really_ do _?_

 **I exist inside your body, attached to your soul. When you need me, I can exit your body as a liquid through the pores in your skin and then solidify around you. I can cover your body with what is basically my own, giving you my strength, endurance, speed. The more of me you bring into the tangible world, the more energy I will need to pull from you to remain. Aside from that, there are passive things, such as accelerated healing and of course, access to my eyes. Speaking of which, you are only able to view one direction now, as you would see with your eyes, but it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. I see in all directions. With practice, you most likely could as well.**

Something struck me very suddenly, listening to her explain. _Wait...Exit my body as a liquid? Like an ooze?_

 **Yes.**

 _Oh my God, you aren't a demon, you are a Goddamn symbiote!_

 **A what?**

 _Like Venom. And Carnage. Spiderman villains. Comic books. Can we hulk out? Make ourselves huge?_

 **In theory...but that would require a rather large buildup of my so-called** _ **ooze**_ **before we became significantly larger. I don't think you have enough blood in your body to sustain it.**

 _Well boo...What about healing? You healed me that day...can I do that?_

 **That is...complicated. I was able to heal you by sacrificing my tangible body. My healing...requires great personal sacrifice. With endurance training you** _ **might**_ **be able to heal small injuries by sacrificing large amounts of available** _ **ooze,**_ **but you couldn't do much unless you were willing to take the injury unto yourself.**

 _I can absorb the injuries of others? And you said I had faster healing, too right? That could be useful..._

 **Please don't be reckless. I have to feel your pain too, if you recall. Although, based on what I have felt, the more pain I feel, the stronger I am. So, it** _ **could**_ **be useful.**

 _Huh...well that's interesting._


	4. Starring All Might as Rita Hayworth

**Chizue**

Rumors were flying around about the new girl. Television was one of the few things we had the luxury of in this hell. Nobody ever turned on closed captioning, so I always had to look to Rin to explain. Apparently the whole city got to see a live broadcast of her father massacring people. Nine dead, I think? That's what we knew before she got here, and then after, the rumors started getting more intense. Apparently she had to go to disability counselling because she was blinded in the incident. Some of the rumors say that her father did it. Some say she was collateral damage, and others claim that she was right there beside her father, hands in the killing.

I didn't know the truth, and I didn't want to know. Rin and I just kept to ourselves, trying to stay at a steady level between not showing fear, and not bringing attention to ourselves. We had only gotten out of the medical ward yesterday, that big asshole with the strength quirk, Jura, took it too far last time, kicking Rin hard enough to break several ribs, and apparently I had a concussion. I felt fine, but Rin still winced everytime she moved a little too fast or got a little too animated in her signing.

I think they took away his TV time that night as 'punishment'.

They didn't care what we did to each other in here, so long as we didn't kill each other or hurt people bad enough to go to the hospital. There weren't guards. Everything was remotely run. The only people we would hurt were each other, and to them, we weren't people at all. We were teenage villains, locked up in juvie for the rest of our lives. Protecting civilization by keeping us caged. Out of sight, and out of mind.

As we walked through the cafeteria trying to get some food and get out, to my left I saw Rin tense up, turning around and I knew. I threw my arms up and pushed in front of her, taking the sucker punch meant for her. _Her ribs were still hurt. I could take it._ I clutched my stomach spitting up a clot of blood before looking up to him,

"You know, I hate that I hafta wait for you to look at me before I talk to ya." He gives me a swift kick to the kneecap and I feel a pop, hoping that it was just a hyperextension and not a break. "You volunteerin' in place of your sister? Ain't that sweet." I prepare for another kick but Rin, who is crouched down behind me taps my shoulder and points to our left. The new girl, and all eyes were on her. She was average height, but lean and muscular. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek black ponytail, but the striking thing was the black blindfold around her eyes and the way she held herself. Even in our beige jumpsuits, and silly burlap slip-on shoes, she looked like a fucking ninja.

"What's going on here?" She asks, tilting her head, and it's intimidating. I had never seen her before. Some of the kids in here I knew from the Dog Fights, they loved to enact revenge, but this girl? It seemed like she just wanted to pick a fight. _And of course, we were gonna be on the receiving end._

I glance back to Jura, "Oh, hey there new girl. I heard you killed some people...If you wanna get some blood on your hands, I'll share these two with ya. They don't even fight back." He chuckles, and I can see the girl walking towards us slowly out of the corner of my eye. He looks back to me, and pulls his leg back, and I brace myself for another hit, but before he has the chance I see a blur and then, in front of my eyes I see the new girl spin on the ball of her foot, connecting a roundhouse kick to Jura's jaw. I could see the ripples in his face from the force of it and saw him stagger back, and I _wish_ I could have heard the satisfying clack of his teeth shattering.

I move my eyes to her face in enough time to see her words on her lips, "Okay, assholes, you wanna hit someone? Hit _me._ " I felt my jaw drop, _why?_

Jura spits a glob of teeth and blood onto the ground, and if I wasn't in such shock, I would have smiled, and then he spoke, "You think I won't hit a fuckin' blind girl?"

Her lip twitches up into a half smirk, "You can try, cocksucker. _I_ fight back."

I could practically _feel_ the anger oozing off of Jura as he lunged at her, Rin seizing the opportunity to drag me across the tiled floor so we wouldn't get stomped on in the ensuing struggle. The girl ducks, using his momentum to throw him over her back and onto the ground. Then his friends jump in, most of them have pretty pathetic quirks, mostly heteromorphics, a few strength enhancers, extending fingers, basic shit. She didn't hesitate to beat the shit outta them too, most went down with a few punches and the girl, -she was taking hits like a champ. Her lip was busted, and it looked like her forearms were probably pretty bruised from blocking, but she was still smiling. When his friends fell, Jura jumped back in and grabbed her from behind. _Cheap._

I saw her mouth open, and I am guessing she screamed, cause in that instant, a black oozing, inky substance covered her arms as she broke free of his hold. She stood there standing in the middle of the circle, the darkness solidified, extending the length of her arms and turning her fingers into long claws. I recognized it. And so did everyone else. That was the quirk on TV. The one her father had. The one that took so many pro heroes to stop, and they all froze. She smiled, wide. "What's the matter? You _scared?_ "

From the look on everyone's faces, I got the impression that there was something more to that statement than I could garner from lip reading. She laughed, and then spoke again, looking around at all the people around her with eyes we all _knew_ weren't there. "Listen up you _fucks._ I don't want to fight you. I don't derive pleasure from the suffering of others like you seem to..." She pauses, raising her right hand to point a long, dripping claw at Jura, "But know this. If _any of you...,"_ She slowly drags that claw around to point at everyone she was fighting with, "come at me, I _will_ fight back." She inhales deeply, "But if you so much as think about hurting _them,"_ pointing her claw straight at Rin and I, "I will come after you like a _fucking_ shinigami, do I make myself clear?"

I see several lips muttering, but I can't read any of them, so I look back to her, and I see her chest rise and fall with a breath as the black of her arms seems to recede back into her pores, "Good. Now get out of my sight." I see her smile and chuckle, "You know what I mean."

In that moment, almost the entirety of the people in the cafeteria rushed through the double doors leading to the main hall, leaving only a few brave souls eating at the tables in the corners, and then she walked towards us, I saw her softly smile at Rin behind me before kneeling down in front of me, "You alright?" I nodded slowly not knowing what to think. The girl was terrifying, and in my experience help never comes for free. She extends her hand towards me, "I'm Ryuniko Meiko. It's good to meet you."

I eye her warily, but take her hand, "I'm Chizue." I gesture behind me, "That's Rin. She doesn't speak. I can't hear. " I see her open her mouth, but I interrupt her, " Why did you help us?"

I see her dramatic exhale as she plops rather ungracefully to sit on the ground by us, "Well, long story short is I am not a villain. I don't want to hurt people. My dad didn't either, but that's an even longer story...I could tell you don't either."

I feel the movement behind me and turn to see Rin with a scowl, signing "How would you know that?"

I opened my mouth to translate, but the girl, Ryuniko, speaks first, "I lost my eyes. I see with my quirk. I see people as colors that reflect their character and their feelings." I stare at her for several moments, and I get the feeling she is just looking between Rin and I. Then, suddenly she smirks, "So, are we just gonna sit here in the middle of the cafeteria floor, or do you wanna grab some lunch?" She stands up far more gracefully than she sat down, and I feel Rin behind me moving to stand as well.

I follow, but when I try to put weight on my right leg my knee starts to buckle and , I remember the popping feeling in my kneecap moments ago. I expect Rin to try to catch me despite her injured ribs, but once again, I am surprised by hands on my arms that are unfamiliar. The tingle of a new quirk flowing into my right index finger, _Light Bending? What does that have to do with the inky arms?_ I look up to her face, and her nearly neutral expression seems concerned,

"Your knee is hurt, try not to put weight on it." I feel Rin on my left, her hand on my shoulder encouraging me to lean on her, but the girl's gaze moves to her, "Your ribs are injured, you shouldn't support anymore weight than you have to."

I start to open my mouth to ask, but she reads me again, "Spectral Sight can show me injuries as well." Her hand grips my forearm and she shakes her head lightly, "You can lean on me. I promise I won't bite." I glance over to Rin who bites her lower lip but shrugs slightly, so I relent, Snaking my right arm around her shoulders, we are about the same height, so she bends a little to support me. I hate accepting help, and I don't like relying on someone else, but there is something about this girl, Meiko, that tells me I should give her a chance.

* * *

 **Meiko**

I sit Chizue down at a table and leave she and Rin to grab us all some sandwiches. I can feel eyes on me from around the room. I made a scene. I made a huge fucking scene. But I knew what those two had been through. Because of my imagination. I couldn't watch them get hurt when they wouldn't fight back. Why wouldn't they fight back?

They weren't what I expected. I never planned their names, but when I entered the cafeteria and saw them on the floor, saw the color of defiance whirling around with their pain, I knew it was them, and I knew I had to help. They were beautiful girls, but they were very different. Chizue was a bit taller than me and had a rounder face and more pronounced cheeks, if not for the circumstances she would have seemed friendly, approachable. Her hair was straight and long, but pulled back into a low braid, no doubt intentionally hiding her ears. Rin was a bit shorter than me. She had a more regal look and pointed gaze. The way she moved seemed calculated and cautious. Her hair was shorter and a bit curly, forming a bob that stopped just below her ears. They were fraternal twins, obviously. But most importantly, they were here with me. They were _real._ As I walked back to the table with the food, I could see them cautiously signing to each other. I caught bits and pieces.

'So you think we can trust her?' Chizue asks,

'She took a beating for you. And it's not like we can offer her anything. What could she want from us?' Rin signs, shifting in her seat, 'Besides, what is there to lose, we know we are going to die in here regardless.'

I swallow hard, placing their sandwiches in front of them before sitting down at the side of the circle in between them. They nod and sign a 'thank you' each, and it's several minutes of silent eating before I notice Rin's piercing gaze on me, signing "Are you sleeping in the overflow room?" I nod, "Then you should move in with us. It's small, and it smells like mildew, but you are less likely to get attacked in your sleep."

I chew quickly, trying to arrange my thoughts, "Why? You barely know me."

She gives a closed mouth smirk, continuing to sign "Look, we are a long way from braiding each other's hair and singing kumbaya, but..." She pauses, breathing heavily and staring at me, _Jesus, I can't even really see them, but her eyes are so_ intense. "I don't like people. I don't trust them. But you got the hell beat out of you to protect my sister, and that's more than any other person ever has, and I don't see anyway that befriending the two most hated people in this hell could benefit you, so I am taking a chance."

"Thank you. I..." _I wasn't expecting this. I thought it would take weeks for them to start to trust me, but then again, the real Meiko wouldn't have known that these girls were supposed to be her friends. She might not have saved them, have I already changed things? "_ I don't know what to say, but...thank you." I glance to Chizue who has been relatively quiet,

"Just...try not to go demon and kill us. I have survived too much to die like that." Her smile was bright, like I expected, but beneath that, in the color of her aura were the flowing hints of lingering pain and resentment. _Loud. Charismatic. No filter. Self-deprecating humor. This was her. Definitely._ I glance back to Rin, who is still staring deep into my soul. _Master-observer. Sees everything, but doesn't care about much. Fierce loyalty. Dry humor. This was definitely the twins, but they were so much more than I expected them to be._

 **Obviously, real, breathing people are going to be more complex than your half-assed ideas for them.**

 _When did you start cursing?_

 **Being in your mind...it...does something to me.**

I shake her voice down, "I'll do my best."

"That's the best any of us can do." Chizue responds, shoving the last part of her sandwich into her mouth in one bite. Rin continues daintily nibbling at her food, like she is scared of opening her mouth too much. "So, the quirk. What is it? When I touched you, all I felt was your light bending quirk. No inky claw arms."

I took a breath, _honesty is the best policy._ "My dad made a deal with a spirit, a demon basically, to save my life. She shared his body. That night..." from the look on their faces I knew they had seen it, Rin continued to eat, but her eyes were in rapt attention "The demon did the only thing it knew could make it happy, the suffering of others. I tried to stop him, er, _her,_ but I was too late. I didn't save anyone and got caught up in the crossfire. But, I couldn't let the demon escape and find someone who actually _wanted_ to kill people. So I took her in. I let her share my feelings and emotions to make up for the lack of murder, and in turn she protects me and helps me fight."

Chizue narrowed her eyes at me, Rin just raised a singular eyebrow, never breaking in her chewing, "So..." Chizue starts, "Those were the demon's arms? And you use the demon's eyes to see?"

"Exactly."

"What else can it do?" **I resent that remark.** I smirk at her hurt feelings.

"She. Apparently she didn't like being called an 'it'" **I prefered satan's whore.** I smile reassuringly, and answer the question, "She can augment my body with her own. Arms, legs, wings. Anything she has, I can use. Also, the inky ooze she is made of is very strong, like armor. I can also shoot it as projectiles, but the amount is limited. The more I use, the harder it is to get her body to cooperate."

She nods, a pensive expression on her face, "She got a name?"

"Illidari."

"Nice to meet you, Illidari. Sorry I called you an 'it', please don't kill me." I felt her amusement in my head, **Tell her I appreciate that she thought of speaking to me, and that I don't plan on harming her.**

I relayed the message and she responded with a smile. Rin signed something I didn't recognize, so I looked to Chizue, "Ditto. She said ditto, cause she is too fucking lazy to sign her own introduction." Chizue gives a glare I know has no real malice, and Rin responds with a crude gesture that suspiciously resembles a leisurely stroking of a cock, and I laugh, inferring from the circumstance she meant something along the lines of 'go fuck yourself' _I like them. I like them a lot._

I spend the next few hours thinking. The three of us walked together, and people would stare and whisper, but none of us seemed to mind. I wondered how long it had been since they were able to walk these halls without fearing some asshole. _What had they gone through because of me?_

We picked up my few items from my locker in overflow before finally walking down the hallway of bedrooms. Theirs was the one on the end, and they pushed the door open. The two twin beds were pushed together in the far corner of the room. In the other back corner was a table that seemed to hold their few belongings, and right beside that table was the most blindingly ostentatious poster of All Might I think I have ever seen. His huge smiling face hovering above the words "You Too Can Be A HERO!" I couldn't help but laugh at the irony.

As I step into the room I start to see the very faint lines criss-crossing all throughout the room, strung together like a spiderweb. I reach my hand out to touch one in front of my face, but I can't feel it on my skin. _What?_

I feel a tap on my shoulder and Rin is looking at me like I am crazy before she starts signing, "You can see them?"

"I can see lines all over the place, but I don't feel them."

She smiles, her mouth parting just slightly before quickly closing her lips again, "They can only be felt by others if I choose to solidify them. The purpose of them like this is like a spiderweb. If someone were to enter this room, I would feel the vibrations in the threads." _When I thought up her quirk, I imagined invisible threads to control people like puppet strings...this is something_ more.

"That's...amazing." I respond and she shrugs, grabbing the small bag out of my hand and putting it beside the table, right under the All Might poster. I glance once again into the blue of his eyes and that fucking megawatt smile. Chizue's voice sounds behind me,

"There's one in every bedroom. I think it was a joke meant to antagonize us." I turn to face her as she puts her thumb and forefinger on her chin thoughtfully, "I kinda like it though. All Might has a comforting smile. I remember his voice too. I liked it. He is the number one hero for a reason." Rin pushes the bedroom door closed and I see several more lines shoot from her fingertips and through the area disturbed by the opening door.

Chizue Leans against the bare wall, sliding down to the floor, "They can be bad. Don't get me wrong. For every hero like All Might there are nine more who only want money and fame. But the good ones? I like them."

Rin slides down the wall beside her, and I sit cross-legged in the floor across from them. She signs, "Every kid dreams of being a hero." Her lips twist into a scowl, "What is different for us is when we realized that would never happen."

And just like that, all the doubts and fears and worries I had been debating in my head since I realized I was in my own story crashed down around me. I couldn't do this. I couldn't pretend around them. I couldn't lie to them. Not when they were so damn _genuine_ with me.

 **Wait. What are you doing? Don't do something stupid. Meiko I don't think-**

 _Shut up, I am doing it._

"I have to tell you guys something." I blurt, and Rin scrunches her eyebrows together. Chizue's face remains neutral. _Right, she can't hear my tone. No backing down now._ "This is going to sound completely and utterly insane, but I _need_ you to know the truth."

I swallow down the lump forming in my throat and try to fight through my indecision and the mutterings of Illidari telling me this is a bad idea, "I knew who you were before I came here. I know about your past. Your father..." I clench my teeth, "your mother." I sigh, "I know so much about you because before I was born into this body I lived another life. Another reality where this world was fiction -a comic book series."

Chizue blinks incredulously, "We were fictional characters in a comic book?"

I squeeze my eyes closed tightly, even though it changes nothing, "Sort of. You two...and me -well- the person I was supposed to be, we weren't in the comic book series, we were characters in a story _I_ thought up based in the comics.

She blinks several times, and I see Rin's left eyebrow raise higher and higher the longer the confession drags on, "Like fanfiction?"

I chuckle, a little morosely, "Exactly like fanfiction."

Chizue starts to speak but Rin softly places a hand on her shoulder, "I call bullshit." she signs, and I can see the scowl on her face. She is fucking terrifying. I start to speak, but she continues, "If you claim to know about us because you _wrote_ us. Then prove it."

I nod, turning my gaze to the floor as I spoke, "Somethings have changed in the transition from my mind to reality, but I will tell you what I knew. You were twins, born to a villain. This villain had a quirk that let him steal the quirks of others and store them in his fingers. He could then destroy them by breaking the fingers. He wanted to create a child with a better version of his quirk so he kidnapped your mother. I think she had a quirk that let her use quirks she completely understood if the original owner allowed it. Chizue...you were the quirk marriage he wanted. You could steal quirks in your fingers like he could, and you could use them if you wanted to, but you had to follow the verbal commands of the owner...so he deafened you." I glance up and see the pain and disbelief on their faces, "And Rin, when you tried to stop him, he shoved something down your throat to shut you up. I know he used to enter you in fights with other kids of villains. I know when you refused to kill them he would hurt you _both._ I know your mother was killed accidentally by a hero when they came for your father. I know you loved music, and he took that from you."

I could feel the pressure of tears I couldn't form. The tightening of my throat making it hard to speak, "And I know that it's my fault." I clench my fists, grabbing at the fabric of my jumpsuit pants, "You two suffered through all that because _I_ thought it up. I thought it would be a compelling story and _I_ thought up those circumstances. But now...now." My chest wrenches as I dry sob, "You are _real._ You are _here._ You aren't just characters in a story you are...Rin and Chizue. And you endured so much because of _me._ " I pull my knees up to my chest and bury my face in my hands, terrified of what they would say.

A few moments later I feel a hand on my knee and look up to see Chizue and her greenish hue of concern, "I take it we were supposed to be friends?" I nod, and she leans back on her heels. I didn't even hear them cross the room, but they are both sitting on their knees right in front of me.

Rin signs, "The way I see it, our past is what it is. We can't change it, and we don't blame you." She smirks a bit, "I mean, you ended up in your own hell too, right?"

I let out a noise that even I can't determine if it is a laugh or a sob, "Yeah, but yours was worse."

Chizue reaches between my knees and grabs my hand in hers, "Pain is pain. Just because we had something worse happen to us doesn't make your past any less hurtful. This isn't some pissing contest about who had the shittier life, alright?"

I give a shaky nod and look back to Rin, "If you know our past, does that mean you know the future as well?"

I sigh, placing my chin on the top of my knees, "In theory, but I am meddling in things. Things may not turn out how they were supposed to. And knowing too much about the future could change the decisions you make."

Chizue spoke, "If you are afraid of changing the future, why are you meddling?"

"Because," I start, "If I know someone is going to get hurt or die and I do nothing to stop it, doesn't that make me a villain? How can I sit back and let people die without trying to stop it?"

Rin and Chizue look at each other for a moment, and then Rin turns back to me, signing, "Fair enough, but what happens next?"

"Next, we escape." I state, and the two of them look at me like I am crazy. "In my story, the police used the two of you as bait to lure out a retired villain who was a friend of your father's. Someone who you cared about. The two of you were taken to visitation to meet him and I tagged along, and it was a trap. He thought you asked for him, you thought he asked for you, but in the end, it was just heros. Your friend was killed, but the three of us were able to escape in the confusion."

Chizue and Rin exchange another look, and Chizue spoke, "Doc. He was the closest thing we had to a friend. Whenever we would be hurt, he would patch us up. He could, drain the stamina out of other people and use it to heal injuries. He would suck the life out of people and use it to heal us. He... he wasn't bad. He didn't want to hurt people, but he did what he had to do to survive. I guess that means he got out..."

Rin signs, "But he is going to die because of _us._ "

"Unless," I start, glancing up at the camera in the corner of the bedroom. All the bedrooms had visual only cameras. I look over at All Might's exuberant face, "Isn't that the outer wall of the prison?" Rin purses her lips but nods slowly. "Do the words Shawshank Redemption mean anything to you?"

Chizue opens and closes her mouth for a moment before speaking, "No. Should they?"

"I have a plan." I smile, looking at her confused face, "You need to steal or copy or whatever my lightbending quirk and use it to create the illusion of exactly what we are doing right now and then project it in front of that camera, can you do that?"

"I can, but I don't understand."

"Please just do it. I don't want anyone else to die because of my negligence, and since I never put timelines on anything there is no telling how long we have before the trap, so we have to work as quick as we can."

Chizue scowls, but taps her finger onto my skin, and a few seconds later, "Okay. Projecting. Now what?"

"Now, you need to make _sure_ that illusion doesn't falter until we say so. You'll have to do it constantly." Chizue nods and I look to Rin, "Can you form your threads into solid objects? Like say, a shovel?"

"Yes, why?" She asks, her eyebrows scrunched together again, and I move to the back wall, gently pulling the All Might poster from the wall and laying it on the bed after scratching the wall around the edges of the poster so we could make certain to hang it back up in exactly the same position. I watch as the oily ink oozes from my skin to cover my arms in the essence of Illidari before turning back to Rin with a smile,

"Because we are going to embrace our inner Andy Dufresne and dig our way out of here."

~~NOTES~~~

So, there are our three main OC's! I do have other ships planned within this story aside from Tokoyami. I want them to be a surprise though. There will be other OC/Canon pairings as well as Canon/Canon pairings. I am a fucking sucker for love, yo. If you are liking this story, let me know! Feel free to tell me your favorite ships too, who knows, they might end up in here? =)


	5. Leap of Faith

_~Two and a half years later~_

 **Aizawa**

 _4:39 A.M. The sun is about to come up and I am just now on my way home. Figures._ I glance down at my phone, checking for emergencies and finding none, only a flurry of texts from Hizashi ranging from cat pictures to seemingly random sentences about what I'm _hoping_ is a TV show. I feel my abdomen constrict and realize it has been several hours since I ate. _At least it's summer vacation and I don't have to teach tomorrow._

I walk by a little grocery store that happens to still be open and head inside, hoping to grab a quick bite because I _know_ my fridge is empty. Grabbing a pre-made bento box and a drink from the refrigerator and making my way to the front of the empty store to the older gentlemen behind the counter.

He looks at me over the top of his bifocals. I see his eyes fall to my capture weapon and then back up to my eyes as he grabs my late dinner-slash-early breakfast, "Don't worry about it. I'm a pro-hero."

He shrugs, scanning the bento casually, "Yeah, that doesn't make it any better. 'Spent way too much time getting ignored by you people to have any good will towards ya now."

I narrow my eyes at the very average looking older man as he scans my iced coffee, "What do you mean by that?"

He sighs, pressing a few buttons on his cash register, "I reached out to more _pro-heros_ than I can count, trying to get somebody... _anybody_ to take a look at a case...Nobody ever did. No fame in it, nobody cares." He looks back up to me, "That'll be 800 yen."

I grit my teeth, there are so many heroes out there who do it for the wrong reasons. I hand him the money, "Tell me about the case."

He stares at me incredulously for a moment, taking my money and pressing some buttons on the register as the drawer pops out with a ding. He hands me my change, "You got a few minutes?"

I pocket the money and nod to him and he gestures to the little door that accesses behind the counter, and I join him as he leans against the magazine rack behind him, and then he starts to speak, "I like to do charity work in my spare time. Go down to the spots under bridges that the homeless like to hang out at, give em food and blankets and what have ya. Well, a little under two years ago, I started seeing these three teenage girls around. Never seen em before that. At first, they never let me get a good look at em. Always kept their hoods up. Stayed out of the way. Always watched 'em give their food and supplies to other people who needed it more."

"I knew from the way that they carried themselves that they were on the run, but I tried not to think about it too much, they seemed real nice to the other homeless, ya know?" I nod, encouraging him to continue. "One night, I was walking back home after a shift. It was real late. Real dark out except for the full moon, one of those nights that you just have a bad feelin'. I was walking down the street when I heard a muffled scream in an alley, so I looked. There were three big men attacking a woman. They had quirks. They looked much stronger than me, so I didn't know what to do. I was about to turn around and go call for help when I felt something fly over my head."

He laughs to himself, "It was one of them girls. She literally _flew_ in. Kicked one in the face, and then the other two girls ran past me. One did something to tie up the guys the first girl knocked out while the last girl comforted the woman. The memory of the fight is blurry, but I remember overhearing one of the guys asking them, 'Why? You have an even higher price than we do! You should be helping us' but the girl who beat them all up just looked at him and said 'We are nothing like you.'"

"That's when I finally remembered how to walk and walked towards them, and when they saw me, I could tell that they realized I knew who they were. The one holding the passed out woman looked up at me and told me to call the cops." He turns a bit to look me straight in the eye, "I know I am admitting a crime, but I told them I'd wait til after they left. Then I told 'em where my store was, and that if they ever needed anything they could have it. No questions asked."

He shrugs, but continues, "After that I saw them more frequently. Talked to 'em sometimes when it was late on a shift. Sometimes they were all together, but most of the time it was just one or two of 'em. They only ever took food and medical supplies. When I mentioned seeing their wanted posters, I asked em what they did. They said they escaped from a Legacy Home. I asked them why they would break out of a place if they knew it was going to brand them a villain. The redheaded one told me that there were only two ways out of those places, you become a villain, or you die in there, and escaping on their own terms was the compromise."

"Not too long after that, I was working when I heard a ruckus on the street. It was the girls, being chased by God knows how many heros. All of em trying to bag the villains. I don't know why I did it, but I took out my phone and started recording it." He sighs, shifting his weight on his feet, "I keep trying to post that video on the internet, but it always gets taken down. The police eventually told me that the video could be considered villain propaganda and if I post it again, I was going to jail. That's when I started reaching out to heros. Hoping someone with enough influence to make a difference could see it."

 _A villain propaganda video? What could it be of? Why does this guy care so much?_ "They were good kids. They got arrested the day after I recorded that video. After many hours on the phone I heard they got thrown into Tartarus. I don't think they did anything wrong. Not really. They couldn't help that their parents were villains, and _we,_ as a society, threw those kids into a home where they would never be heard from again. It's not fair to them, especially considering the fact that they _knew_ every time they showed their faces or used their quirks to help somebody out -and ask any of the shop owners around this part of town, it was fairly often- everytime they helped someone it made it that much more likely they were gonna get caught. And they did it anyway. If you ask me, they were heros. Not villains."

My stomach growls again, and I glance at my watch, 5:04. _I gotta get back._ I write down my personal number and email on the notepad next to the cash register. "Send me that video. Their names. Any information you have, and I'll look into it."

"Thanks." He pauses, "I think I should say that when you watch the video, you should know that the little boy is my grandson. His mom was bringing him to see me at work when the incident happened. _That's_ why I care so much. Why I fought- _fight-_ so hard for those girls."

I nod silently before heading back out into the night, making my way back home and collapsing into bed immediately after eating. When I woke up the next morning I had a new email from an unknown sender with an attachment, the message reading:

' _I don't know if you meant what you said, but in case you did, the video is attached. All I knew was their names, Meiko Ryuniko, and Rin and Chizue Gingero. Please keep me updated._

 _-Arai Uta'_

When I opened the video I had no idea it was something I could never unsee.

* * *

~ _about a week later~_

 **All Might**

When young Midoriya asked me to find his long lost childhood friend, I can't say that _this_ is how I imagined it going. One of the pros of being the symbol of peace are that any information you need from the police or hero agencies is fairly freely given. But the downside is that it's hard to keep things quiet when people start asking questions.

 _Oh yeah, I'll just tell them that the boy I'm training as my successor mentioned an old friend who disappeared after a suspicious incident with her father suddenly turning villain, and to try to help the boy find some closure I offered to try and find her. I never expected to end up at the prison for super villains, Tartarus._

So I am here in my weakened form, principal Nezu pulling strings to get me clearances even under my real name. I was thankful he didn't ask too many questions about why I wanted to come. Hell, even I wasn't sure why I wanted to come. I _could_ just tell Midoriya his friend was in Tartarus, but I feel like that would just make things worse. Especially when you consider that the circumstances just _don't make any sense._

The more I looked into her police record, the weirder things started to look. It said she used her quirk on a hero to try to save her father, which is illegal, yes, but _understandable._ Then they sent her to the Legacy Home outside of Tokyo. I have heard rumors about those places being terrible, but nothing concrete. She escaped the home with two other kids and went on the run as an official villain. _Even though her crimes were so minimal, she and her two compatriots were a high priority case._

The fact that the only crimes they committed while escaped were minor theft and illegal quirk usage (for self defense and against other villains) was enough to make you wonder. Midoriya spoke so fondly of this girl. He said she was like his sister, and she always told him to never give up his dreams, pushed him to train to become the hero she believed he would be.

The claims that this girl was a villain deserving of a life sentence in Tartarus just didn't add up. Which is why I am here. To talk to her. To see her for myself. Hear things from her perspective.

As I walk into the waiting area on one of the upper floors, the lower security levels, I see a familiar face sitting awkwardly in a chair. He turns to look at me, narrowing his bloodshot eyes, and I decide the best thing to do is to speak. He knows who I am -all the teachers at U.A. do, "Aizawa. I didn't expect to see you here!"

"I could say the same about you...especially in that form." He slowly looks me up and down.

I run my hand through the back of my hair, "Well, I didn't want to attract any more attention to this visit than I had to."

He raises a brow and I know I've already said more than I should. Aizawa is too smart, "Oh, a secret visit to a prisoner in Tartarus? Wouldn't the media _love_ that one?"

I ignore the insinuation behind his words, "Aren't you here to visit a prisoner as well? What's your excuse?"

He scoffs, or laughs, I'm not entirely sure which, "If it works out, I'll tell you. If not, it's none of your business."

"That's not-" I start to speak but one of the guards walks up between us and I stop to look at him,

"The room will be prepared for you two shortly, they have never had any visitors, so we have to check and make sure everything is secure before we let you in."

I am very confused, but Aizawa forms words first, "What are you talking about? We aren't here together."

He prison guard scrunches his nose and looks down at the clipboard in his hand, "Well, you are both here on U.A. clearances and have requested to speak to the same room, so I just assumed...I am sorry." He flips through the pages, "If you want to meet separately, one of you will have to come back tomorrow, they are only allowed one visit a day, you see."

Aizawa sighs loudly, glancing quickly to me and then back to the guard, "I'm fine with it if he is, but I think we will need a few moments to talk between ourselves before we go in."

"Yessir, of course!" The guard nods, "I'll be back to get you when the room is ready."

He turns to look at me, "I find it very suspicious that we are here to see the same people. So talk."

 _What the hell is going on here?_ "I only asked to see one person. Ryuniko Meiko. She..." I pause looking for the words that will be the truth, but won't reveal too much, "Someone asked me to look into her case, and It didn't really add up, so I came to investigate myself." I tilt my head, "And you?"

He scowls, his fingers gripping his capture weapon around his neck, "I asked to see the three of them. If you looked at her case I am sure you know about the two she escaped the home with?" I nod, and he audibly sighs, muttering what sounded an awful lot like 'Fuck it' "I think they were cheated by the system. I think because they were the children of villains they were cataloged and mistreated _as_ villains without a second thought. I think we as a society have turned many kids who _could_ have been normal people into villains without realizing it, and I hope to change that eventually, but...the fact that these three turned away from villainy even when it would have been far _better_ for them to have done so, shows me that they _might_ have what it takes to be great heroes."

I swallow hard, "Are you saying what I _think_ you are saying?"

"I already petitioned Nezu and the Hero Association to start this project. They are calling it 'Project: Break the Cycle'." He shakes his head, probably not thrilled about the name, "They have given me permission to speak to these three, and if I find that they have to potential to be heroes, they will be released under my care and attend U.A. as hero course students."

"Aizawa...this is... _risky._ " I reply,

"I know." He sighs, "But I have a feeling that this is the right thing to do." He looks directly at me with those intense eyes of his, "And I think a part of you agrees with me, or you wouldn't be here at all."

I shake my head with a light sigh, _he's right after all._ "Alright then, I guess we need to talk to them."

"What do you know already?" He asks, glancing at the seat across from him which I move to sit in.

"Not much. I didn't want to raise too many questions. I really only have her rap sheet, and that she was here, but...my _source_ tells me that she was a good person. Not capable of being a villain."

"Right." He starts, scratching the stubble on his chin, "Well, there are three of them. Meiko, who is blind, her father was killed after he lost control of his quirk and went on a rampage. According to her statement after the incident he had no knowledge or control of it, she tried to stop him, but couldn't. She lost her eyes by running into the crossfire to try and save her father."

I nod, that seems to match more of what Midoriya has told me about them. It was an accident. _I didn't know she was blind._

"Then there are Chizue and Rin Gingero." I see the change in expression in his eyes when he says the name that tells me I was right, "Yeah... _that_ Gingero. Villain Ginger Snaps who made a name for himself by destroying the quirks of heroes by breaking his own fingers...Apparently he kidnapped a woman with a quirk that complimented his own, like some sort of fucked up quirk marriage. Those twins were the product. I don't know much about them except that their father was dead when they found him. He chose to kill himself rather than be taken alive."

He pauses for a moment, "Chizue is deaf and Rin is mute. Their medical records show that it was caused by massive traumatic injury. Most likely between the ages of seven and twelve. That's not even considering the patchwork of scars and healed broken bones in both of their histories..."

"Do you think their father..." I couldn't even finish the question, what kind of father could do something like that? Villain or not?

"That's my suspicion, yes."

"And their quirks?"

He blinks several times and takes a deep breath, "We don't know that much about that. Chizue's bloodwork shows that she has one, but we haven't seen it. Rin has something that looks like maybe telekinesis. And Meiko has not only the quirk she was born with, her light bending illusions, but also the quirk her father showed during his rampage." He shrugs. "Seems like she can control it though."

 _Two quirks, that's...uncommon._ Before I could really think up any more questions the guard comes back, "Hello sirs, the security that monitors them has a few things to say before we let you in, but please follow me this way."

Aizawa and I follow the guard down the hallway, and the guard swipes his keycard and the hydraulic seal on the door labeled 3-14 A. When we step inside, it is a small room, another hydraulic door is straight across from us but beside it is a desk with a large monitor, and a small woman sitting in the chair, sipping what smells like coffee. She turns to look at us with a smile.

"Hello there! I hear you have come to visit my girls!" Her voice is loud and chipper and I see Aizawa's eye twitch as he cringes. "Ground rules! If you look at the monitor, you can see their room. On this side of the glass is the visitor's area." She points her finger to a small box on the counter on this side of the glass, "Through wonderful acting we have made the girls believe that we can only hear them when that red button is held down, but in actuality, we can always hear them! This let's us monitor their conversations as if they were secret. We ask that you please act as though you cannot hear them unless you are holding that red button that let's them hear you as well." She touches her lips thoughtfully, "And if you need to, sound output to this room can be suppressed by the little blue switch beside the red button. These three are considered low risk, and since the two of you have high clearances, we trust your decisions."

She inhales before starting again, "Just a few things to note, they don't like being called by their family names, the twins especially. Also, something we have picked up from listening to them, they seem to be under the impression that Meiko is clairvoyant somehow."

"Clairvoyant?" Aizawa raises a brow in disbelief,

"Yes, they seem to think that she knows the future...asking things like, 'I know you said something big was supposed to happen, but when?' and 'are you sure it's coming?'... It's very peculiar!" Aizawa nods, and I do as well. _Clairvoyant isn't the strangest quirk I've ever heard of, but she already has two, how many could she have?..._ if _it's even real._ "Alright you two! Head on in! Remember to act like you can't hear them until you press the button!"

And with that, the loud woman scans her badge on the second hydraulic door, and Aizawa pushes his way inside with me at his heels. The door closes behind us, and I see the three girls stop looking at the TV in the corner to turn and look at us. The girl I knew to be Meiko still wasn't turned our way, but since we hadn't pressed the button, she couldn't hear us, and since she was blind she couldn't see us either. I looked down and noticed the large silver gauntlets on their wrists and recognized them as quirk suppressors. They were considered too painful to be used on most prisoners. I tried to keep a straight face.

Aizawa taps my arm, and he is shielding view of his mouth with his hand, "The blond one is Chizue. She is deaf, so she can most likely read lips. The redhead is Rin, and you recognize Meiko I'm sure." I nod my understanding and look back just in time to hear the blond one, Chizue speak, "Hey Meiko. Two dudes just walked into the visiting area."

Meiko turned to our direction, "Two? What are they doing?"

"Just fucking staring at us like zoo animals." I was a little surprised I was able to not react to that. She's funny.

"You said there are two, what do they look like?" Meiko asks, and Chizue looks between Aizawa and myself,

"The one on the right has black hair, bloodshot eyes, and some sort of mummy wrap on his neck. Looks like a sleepy hobo, honestly." In my peripheral vision I see Aizawa clench his fists just under the view of the glass, and I see a small smile on Meiko's face.

"On the left is like...a blond skeleton wearing a skin suit. And then an actual suit. But it's a hideous yellow and several sizes too big. His eyes are really strikingly blue though." I saw the shock cross Meiko's face and I before I even had a chance to be offended, her words cut through me,

"Fucking All Might is here?" I could feel my body tense and I hoped that it didn't show. _She knew who I was? How? Only the teachers at U.A. knew. And my friends. And Midoriya. How could she...?_

I didn't even notice Aizawa had moved until I saw him flicking the blue switch that stopped our words from leaving this room before pushing the red button and speaking, "Hello, my name is Aizawa. I'm here to ask you a few questions."

He releases the red button and turns to me, shielding his mouth again, "Is there _any_ way she could have known about you?"

I shield my mouth to answer him, "No. Only the people I trust most know, and the teachers at U.A. weren't told until _after_ she was put in here. With no visitors. I don't know how she-"

I hear Chizue and stop to listen, "That is _not_ fucking All Might. I may not know _much,_ but I know _that._ "

"This is his weakened form, not the muscle form...it's hard to explain." Meiko mutters, standing up and walking towards the glass. I know she can't see, but I feel like she is trying to look at us.

Aizawa pushes the red button, looking straight at Meiko "Alright, you know what, let's cut the shit, shall we? We can hear you. And I want to know why you looked relieved when Chizue described me, and why you looked so shocked to hear about my friend here?"

I see the worried expressions on the three of their faces, but then Meiko speaks softly, "Well, honestly, I was relieved because I was terrified I had fucked something up and you were never gonna show up."

"You knew I was going to come here? For what?" Aizawa demands, frustration evident in his voice.

"For your outreach project. Because you saw potential in us, and saw the faults in the system."

"Did you plan this?!" He yells,

"Not in the way you're thinking!" She replies quickly, stepping closer to the glass, "I just...I know things about the past, present and future, but they aren't set in stone. Things keep changing so slightly, and I am just trying to do the best I can."

I can practically hear Aizawa gritting his teeth beside me before he answers, "So you claim that you didn't _manipulate_ me into coming here, you just _knew_ that I would?"

"Yes."

"Prove it. Predict something."

She laughs, and the other two girls flanking her seem to tense up, crossing their arms across their chest. "I can't tell you the future, that could have dire consequences. But I can tell you about the past. Things I know that I _shouldn't._ "

"Fine." He growls, "Tell me about my past then."

She laughs again, rubbing her face with her hands, "Oh man, it's not that easy. I don't know everything about everyone... I know your name is Shouta Aizawa. Eraserhead. Quirk Erasure. You can erase the quirk of people you look at, but it stops when you blink. And when your quirk is activated your hair gets all..."she waves her hands above her head, "Whooshy." She giggles nervously. "You like cats. You have a sleeping bag you take to class at U.A. like you are a fucking caterpillar or something. Present Mic gave you the name Eraserhead...um.."

Aizawa interrupts her, "You could have read almost all of that somewhere. You haven't proved anything."

She nods, "I know." She turns her head more towards me, "Then let me prove it to you, All Might." I glance at Aizawa, but she continues speaking, "I know lots of things that I shouldn't. Lots of secrets you want to keep. Which is why I can prove to you I am telling the truth, but...the problem is a lot of the things I know are things that you probably don't really want Aizawa to know."

I stare at her for a moment, is she telling the truth? What if she is? I look to Aizawa, "Let's give her the chance to prove herself shall we?"

He glowers at me, "You want me to leave you alone, what if she tricks you or something?"

"Aizawa..." I give him a small smile, "I know you don't like me very much, but you must know that I am not that weak. Or _stupid._ Even in this form."

"Fine." He reaches down and flips the blue switch, speaking to the room, "Let me out for a few minutes." He looks at me as the door opens, "Let me know when I can come back. I'll still watch the monitor, but I can't listen if you flip the switch."

I nod as he leaves. Now it is just me in the center of the glass, facing down the three teenage girls. I flip the blue switch for privacy and then press the red button down, "Well. It's just me now. Prove to me you are telling the truth."

She smiles wide at the sound of my voice and I can't possibly fathom why, "Yagi Toshinori. All Might. Eighth user of One for All and symbol of peace!" I feel my jaw drop. _She knows my name. My quirk. About one for all..._ Before I can dwell, she continues, "Your master was Nana Shimura, but she was killed by All for One, so Gran Torino finished training you." She pauses for a moment, "Considering you are here in your weakened form it means that you have already fought All for One and suffered the injury to your left side, costing you your stomach and a lung and...probably some other organs I don't really remember."

"How..." I mutter, "How do you _know_ all that?"

"It doesn't really matter _how._ Just that I _do._ " She steps closer to me, so she is right next to the glass, "Aizawa was supposed to come, but... _you_ weren't. DId he invite you?"

"No. It was a coincidence that we met here." I wait considering my words, "Someone _else_ told me about you."

He mouth opens slightly as she smiles, "Midoriya?"

 _So she knows about my connection to him as well?_ "Yes. He mentioned you, and not knowing what happened to you and I offered to look into it."

She stares in my direction for a moment, and even without her eyes I can feel the intensity of it, "So that means...you've... _chosen your successor?_ "

 _She knew. She knew I would choose him?_ "So you knew, then? That I would choose him?"

She exhales suddenly and her shoulders fall slack like a weight has been lifted, "Well, that's what was _supposed_ to happen, but I was _terrified_ that I had fucked something up for him. That he would give up on his dream before he met you, or that some little thing changed that caused you to never meet or..." She sighs, smiling at me, "I didn't fuck things up for you and Izuku..."

"I guess not." I reply.

Chizue clears her throat before Meiko can speak again, "Look, I am really happy we haven't fucking fractured the timeline or whatever, but if you believe her, can't we get on with _whatever_ is supposed to happen here."

"Oh-y-yes." I stammer, flicking the blue button again, "Aizawa, you can come back!" A few moments later, he re-enters the room, looking expectantly at me as he flips the blue switch again, "Yeah. She's legit, man. I don't know how but she _knows_ things."

He takes a moment looking around at the four of us, "So then, what happens next?"

Meiko shrugs, "Just because I know how the future is supposed to look doesn't mean you don't have free will. For all I know, things could have changed already. _You_ choose what happens next."

I look at Aizawa who has his eyes closed, his fingers wrapped tightly around his capture cloth, again whispering a quiet 'fuck it' to himself, "I am offering you three the chance to become heroes."

Meiko smiles and steps back, but the other two step forward, disbelieving looks on their faces, Chizue lets her mouth hang open for a moment before any sound comes out, " _What?_ Why the _hell_ would you do that? We are _villains,_ remember?"

Aizawa smirks, "To me, your actions looked more like the actions of a vigilante than a villain..." he glares, "Unless you know something I don't."

Rin, the mute one moves her hands, and I wish I had learned sign language. Chizue speaks, "She says that she gave up on the dream of being a hero a long time ago."

Aizawa looks at her, "Why did you give up?"

She signs again, her eyes full of rage and her hands moving rapidly and dramatically and Chizue translates, biting her lip, "She says...'The moment I sat in bed, trying to keep my sister from bleeding to death before morning and finally realized All Might was never going to save us.'" She is still signing and Chizue continues, "And when the so-called heros did finally show up, they were far more interested in taking the credit for stopping our dad than helping us."

I felt their words as a stab in my chest. I knew I couldn't save everyone. I _knew._ But nobody helped these girls. Someone should have been there for them. Gave them hope...not... _hatred._

Aizawa speaks before I get a chance, "I know your experience with heroes has been pretty horrendous. But at the heart of being a hero is the drive to save other people. And I have seen the reports of the three of you doing just that despite the great personal risk."

I back him up, "There are a lot of heroes out there that do it for the wrong reasons... that's why we need more who do it for the _right_ ones."

Chizue looks between us, "And you think that's us?"

"Yes." Aizawa states. "If you agree, the three of you will be released under my care. You will attend U.A's hero course in my class, and I plan to see you three become great heroes. Of course... it won't be easy. I won't make any exceptions for you. You will be held to the same standards as the other students." He glances between the three of them, "This is your chance to show the world that they were wrong about you. To show the world that kids like you shouldn't just be written off. This is the first step in changing the system that fucked you over."

The twins exchange a look before Chizue looks back towards Meiko, "Is this what was supposed to happen?" Meiko shrugs, Rin signs something and Chizue looks back at us, "Beats prison right? Sign us up."

Aizawa nods wordlessly, flipping the blue switch and letting the guard know we were done. Once we are back out into the hallway, he quickly turns around and faces me, "You are in this too. You're helping me. I can't put your name on the project. They don't need that sort of media circus, but I get the feeling I am going to need back up with those three. That's you. Deal?"

"Deal." I reply. _This was a good idea. Those girls deserved better._ And the look on Meiko's face when I mentioned Midoriya, well that told me all I needed to know about what type of person she was. The look on her face when I mentioned him was the same as his when he talked about her.


	6. Butterfly Effect

**Shinso**

I was one of the first to make it to class, so I got to see the others come in slowly. Most of them were talking to other people they met at the entrance exam. Personally, I was just glad that I _wasn't_ in the same class as the guy I used to make it through the obstacle course in the recommended student exam. I'll admit, riding on the back of the mud quirk guy wasn't exactly how I wanted to win that obstacle race, and forcing the girl gaining on us to stop _definitely_ wasn't something I was particularly proud of, but I did what I had to do to _win._ I wasn't going to let myself fail just because I don't have a flashy made-to-be-a-hero quirk. I had to work harder than anyone else here to get my recommendations and get in. I fought for what I wanted. I _made_ them see me. _Just like she told me to._

I shake my head to myself, trying to push down those memories and focus on the people filing in the door. I introduced myself to the people who bothered to talk to me. I'm not here to make friends, but I don't want to be as huge of a dick as that blonde guy in the front who keeps screaming at everyone. I count seventeen people including myself by the time our teacher comes in. I shouldn't have been surprised that my homeroom teacher was Aizawa. _Of course he was._ He was the one who trained me. The one who showed my skills to other heroes to get recommendations to UA. The one who saw potential in me when everyone else saw a villain. He was the one to finally give me a _home._ I got the feeling he asked for me in his class _just_ so he could be hard on me. Whatever. I won't back down.

"Now that everyone's here, I need you to sit down and shut-up, I have things I need to tell you before we begin." Aizawa states, standing behind the podium, looking like his usual exhausted self.

The loud guy with the glasses immediately shoved his hand up, and when Aizawa looked at him, "Sir, I know U.A. classes are supposed to be made up of twenty students, shouldn't we wait for the other three to get here since they still have five minutes before the official start time?!"

"No. Everyone is here that is going to be." He states flatly, and people look around at each other in confusion. Aizawa presses a button on the podium and a projector screen drops from the ceiling. As the projector warms up he continues to speak. "You are U.A. students now. That means you want to be heroes, but beyond that, you want to be the _best_ heroes. Which is why I want to show you an example of what _not_ to do as a hero."

The lights go down as a video starts playing. It's cell phone footage, a little shaky, but clear enough, it looks like a villain chase, the first thing we see is three figures in black hoodies running down the street, several heroes hot on their trail. It looks like the villains are making headway and going to get away when we hear one of the heroes yell, "All civilians get back! I'm ending this!" The camera pans over to the hero in a half mask, forming a fireball, before quickly panning back to where the villains should be, except, they weren't the only ones there. We hear the camera man scream, "Yuri! No! Stop!" as a little boy, probably only three or four runs out into the street, right in the path of the fireball we just heard being released. We hear a large explosion and screaming but it's hard to see anything going on through all the smoke. Aizawa pauses the video. I glance around at the other students, all looking at the screen in horror. Several of the girls had their hands over their mouths.

"This hero was so intent on not letting the villains get away that he was negligent in his care of the innocent. If this was any normal fight with a villain, that child would be dead, and the villains would have still gotten away." _Normal fight with a villain_? "I apologize in advance for the language in the next part of the video, but I think it's something all aspiring heroes should hear." And he resumes the video.

When the smoke settles, in the space where I half expected to see the charred remains of a toddler, instead I saw large black wings, dripping thick oily ooze and what seemed to be quite a bit of blood. Sheltered by the wings were two girls, their arms wrapped around the little boy. I heard several sighs of relief from around the room, but I couldn't take my eyes away from the screen. _It couldn't be, could it?_

The wings slowly turn to ash and the girl they belong to falls forward onto the pavement. A red-headed girl shield's the little boys eyes and tries to comfort his cries, while the blonde girl stands up, looking down the street towards the off-screen hero. "You call yourself a _fucking hero_?!" She screams, and her voice reminds me of a thousand times I thought of her. But her voice never sounded that _pained._ "You were so blinded by your thirst for glory that you were going to _kill_ that _child_ to get it?!" Her voice cracks as she screams, taking a few steps towards the hero as the crowd of civilians watches in silence, she slowly turns, looking at the crowd, "You praise _that_ as a hero, while you brand my _best friend_ a villain?!" She points to the girl with the black hair laying on the street in a growing puddle of blood and black ooze. The red-head is trying to stop the bleeding with her bare hands and you can see the little boy being cradled protectively by a woman at the edge of the crowd. "Well, that _villain,_ just risked her _fucking life_ to save that child from the negligence of a _hero."_ She shakes her head with a scowl of hatred, "You should all be _ashamed!_ "

She takes a few steps towards the kid, and he wipes his eyes and looks up at her, "You alright little man?" The child nods, and you can see the faint smile on her face. The video ends as we see the two girls lift their friend up and continue to run, and the chaotic sounds of the heroes following can be heard in the distance.

In the last frame you can see her face. Even with her friend's blood and black ooze on her face, I can't stop looking at her. Her look of determination. Her bright green eyes. I never thought I would see her again. Just as the memory had started to fade. Just as I achieved the goal she pushed me toward, it seemed like fate that I was seeing her once again, even if it was in a video. For just under two years she has been the voice in my head yelling at me every time I thought about giving up. She has been the face I saw when I was falling asleep. The girl I tried so hard to forget because there was no point in _pining_ for a girl I met once and would likely never see again. As if I could ever really forget her.

* * *

 _~Two years ago~_

I was walking home from school like any other Thursday when I heard yelling behind me, I turned around and further down the street I saw a shopkeeper yelling, "Somebody stop her!" And then I noticed her, running down the sidewalk straight towards me, a girl with blond hair and a bag clutched tightly to her chest. I didn't even think about it, I just acted,

"Hey, you. Stop!" I spoke to her. Activating my quirk.

"Outta the fucking way, asshole," She replied, and I thought I had her. She had replied to me. But it didn't work, why was she still running at me? _Shit, what do I do?_

Again, without thinking, I stuck my leg out and tripped her. On her way down she grabbed my arms and with a surprising amount of force shoved me down onto the ground underneath her, I tried to get a good grip on her, to hold her until the police arrived, but she was squirming too much, and then she looked down at me, "If you plan on being a fucking hero with a niche quirk like _brainwashing,_ you should probably learn how to _fucking fight._ "

And she punched the shit out of me.

Square in the nose.

My eyes were watering and I reflexively moved my hands to clutch my nose, which was actively fountaining blood down my face, and she took her chance to take off running again. For the third time in the span of two minutes I acted before I thought about it and I chased her. She was several meters in front of me, but I was gaining on her, but when she took a little trail that led down to the overflow area of the river, I knew what I needed to do, so I took another path, running as fast as I could. Just as I thought, by the time I hit the little footbridge, she was running underneath it. In a crazy action hero move I reflectively note to be _incredibly_ stupid, I jumped from the bridge to tackle her from above.

I got her. I heard a loud snap when I landed but I didn't think too much about it, because even though she had taken me by surprise, _again,_ and gotten out from under me, she stopped running a few paces away and turned back, realizing I had her bag.

She stared at me, "Look, bitch, I don't want to hurt you, but I _need that bag._ " She stated and she looked both angry and _desperate._ So I looked in the bag, It was full of food, water, bandages, antiseptic and painkillers. I looked back at her and my shock must have shown on my face because she scoffed and glared at me, "What? Did you think I stole nuclear weapons codes from a Goddamn _grocery store?_ "

"Well, I wasn't really thinking about it, I-" I stopped when I saw how she was standing, all her weight was on one foot, and the other foot seemed to be hanging at an odd angle, and that's when I remembered the snap I heard when I landed. I thought I broke something in one of out bags, but no...I snapped her _ankle._ "I broke your fucking ankle." I muttered.

To my complete surprise, she laughed, "Yeah, you fucking did. But I can still kick your ass, so give me my bag back before the cops arrive."

I chuckle lightly, "No more than this stuff costs, the cops won't show up for a while. They have much worse things to deal with, you know, like, actual villains."

She shrugs, "According to them I _am_ an actual villain."

I scoff, "Oh? They give you hard time in the slammer for stealing food and medical supplies?"

She glares at me, "No, they give you hard time for having the audacity to be born into a family of villains." She shakes her head and steps towards me, only minor signs of pain on her face as she puts weight on the ankle I can _clearly_ see is fractured, "I don't have time to stand here and let some pompous kid patronize me. Give me. My fucking. _Bag._ " She takes a step towards me with every word.

For the fourth time today, I act without thinking, gesturing to the wall under the bridge, "Have a seat and let me wrap up your ankle, and I promise I'll give you the bag."

She raises a brow and cocks her weight back to her good leg, "You are shitting me, right?"

"No. I broke your ankle, the least I can do is wrap it up." I try to give her the most genuine look I can. I always look exhausted and my face is covered in blood that has mostly dried, but I try my best. She sighs, but slowly moves to slide down the wall under the shade of the bridge and I kneel across from her, opening my backpack and grabbing the first aid kit I keep for emergencies, thankful for opting for the bigger kit that had the pressure wraps in it.

"You know, this can be considered aiding a fugitive. Bad way to start your aspiring hero career." I grab her foot as gently as I can, sliding the slip on shoe off her foot and trying to position the bones as correctly as I can without hurting her too badly,

"I gave up on that dream a while ago." It wasn't a complete lie, my dream of being a hero was dead in the water, but the death was pretty recent, and it still hurt to think about.

"Why?" She asks, and I see her wince a bit as I grab her ankle to start the wrap.

"Someone with a quirk like mine can't be a hero. People always assume the worst."

She snorts, "That's bullshit." I keep wrapping her ankle securely but gently as I glance up to meet her eyes. They are a bright green, and they are pretty beautiful, "So what if people see your quirk and fear it? That's how people are. They don't like the idea of anyone being able to take things away from them. Quirks. Mobility. _Especially_ free will. That's just part of life. If you wanna be a hero you are going to have to work for it. Your odds aren't insurmountable, you just gotta have the fucking balls to take what you want."

I finish the wrap and anchor it with a pin, sliding her shoe back on slowly before moving to sit beside her against the wall. "I could never get into a Hero Course at a university. My quirk isn't fighting based, I couldn't-"

"I know what your fucking quirk is, remember?" She snaps, _Oh yeah, that's right. How_ did _she know what my quirk was?_ "You aren't the only one with a quirk that isn't useful if you are alone. But it is what you make it." She sighs, stretching out her other leg and I feel the warmth as her arm brushes against mine, "Sure, you have a bigger hurdle than other people who got lucky on the quirk lottery. But your quirk could be _so_ powerful. Especially as a hero. You could do so much _good._ The only thing standing in your way is _you._ "

I turn to look at her, only just now realizing how close we actually were, "Hero Courses always have a practical exam. Those exams are almost always some variation of fighting robots. I can't _fight_ robots."

She continues facing forward, "Don't those schools usually accept recommendations though?"

"I can't get those either. I don't have a rich or famous family, hell, I don't even have a family at all. I'm just some nobody delinquent foster kid, I can't-"

"No. Not ' _you can't'_. You _won't._ " I see her fist clench next to mine, "You have to fucking _fight._ If you don't have a mentor to recommend you, you find one. Find someone with a quirk that doesn't help with fighting, someone who knows how fucking _hard_ it is. You find them and you talk to them. If they won't listen, you _yell._ And if that doesn't work..." Suddenly, her hands are on my cheeks and her face is so close to mine. Her bright green eyes looking directly into mine, "If that doesn't work you grab them by the face and say _look at me_." She pauses, and I feel her warm breath on my face as she takes a deep breath, "-Look at me. Look at what I can _do."_ She smiles at me, and I look at her pink lips and there was a part of my mind desperately hoping she would just _kiss me._ "You may look at other kids and think that they have everything so _easy,_ but you have to realize, you look like that _for me._ You have everything going for you, kid. Don't fuck it up because you are afraid of failure."

Then suddenly, her hands drop back to her sides and I can breathe again. Except for the fact she is still looking at me with that bright twinkle in her eyes, "Just, for fuck's sake kid learn how to fight. If I were an _actual_ villain, you would have been dead the second you took your eyes off me to look in my bag." I inhale sharply. She is right. I took my eyes off of her. "And what if you run into someone else who turns out to be deaf?" She taps next to her ear with her right hand, "You'd be shit outta luck, and you'd be killed. And I like you. You seem really nice, even to a villain, and that's a rare thing. I'd hate to see you dead."

I smile, looking down at my feet and then over to her bag of stolen goods sitting by my left side, taking note of what is in there, her voice rings out again, "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking at the things you-"

"Hey. I'm deaf, I can't read your lips if you don't look at me." She half-yells, and I look back up to her face,

"Sorry, I didn't realize... I was seeing what all you had so I could go pay for it later."

"Why would you-?"

"Because if I am going to be a hero, I can't just let you walk away with stolen goods." I smirk at her, "But I'd be a total dick if I tried to take food and medical supplies from someone who probably really needs it, so...compromise."

She laughs, and it's a sweet sound, I briefly wondered if she had any idea what she sounded like, "You're a nice guy, Purple Man."

"Purple Man?" _A joke about my hair?_

"Yeah, he was a character in old comics. He could mind control people too."

"Let me guess, he was a villain." I deadpan.

"He was." She tilts her head with a smile, "But that doesn't mean you have to be. Reclaim the name." She chuckles.

I look down to her ankle, and I can see the bruising spreading past the edge of the bandage. I remember to turn back to her this time, "You really should see a doctor about that ankle."

"Yeah, hospitals aren't really an option for me."

I give a half-smile, "I have an old friend who is a doctor, but I am guessing if I leave to go get him, you'll be long gone by the time I get back?"

"Most likely." She responds, "But you could still try. Free will and all."

I laugh, moving to stand up and offering her a hand to help her to her feet. Her hand is warm in mine, and that one little touch does more for me than holding hands with any of the girls I've tried to date in the past. "Maybe we'll meet again someday?"

"How's this? When you become a pro-hero, if I'm not already dead or in prison, I'll let you take me in as your debut, how is that?"

"I don't know how much street-cred bagging a willing villain will earn me." I joke,

"I dunno, probably a lot if that villain is the daughter of the infamous Ginger Snaps." She takes my moment of surprise to grab the bag from the ground beside me, before sprinting away with more speed than she probably should on a broken ankle, she waves over her shoulder, "Until then, Purple Man!"

I stand there lamely as she disappears around a corner. I tried and failed not to dwell on the realization that the first person I had ever met who talked to me like a normal person and not someone going to brainwash them at any moment was -for all intents and purposes- a villain. Nobody had ever encouraged me like she just had. Nobody had ever _looked_ at me like she just had. But just as soon as she had entered my life, she was gone from it. The only things to show for it being a broken nose, a dirtied school uniform, and one less wrap in my first aid kit. Well, that and the renewed drive to fulfill my dream of being a hero. _Grab them by the face and say 'Look at me'._ Her words repeat in my head, and the intensity of her eyes as she said them. Yeah. I can do that.

* * *

I was drug back from my memories by the sound of a classmate asking a question. A girl a row in front of me with black hair in a ponytail, "Sir. I understand that you showed us this footage to allow us to see not only the costs of negligence in our work, but also the shades of gray that exist in the heroing world, but I get the feeling those aren't the only reasons you showed this to us."

Aizawa's lip twitched up ever so slightly, "Very perceptive Yaoyorozu. You are exactly right. Which leads us to the real reason I showed this to you before we advanced any further... This footage was given to me at a chance encounter with a random citizen. He had lost faith in the heroes because he felt that _we_ had done these three teenagers a grave injustice. He saw them as kids just trying to survive as well as heroes that risked their lives to save his grandson." He pauses, taking a moment to turn off the projector, "I agreed with him, which is why I have extended a second chance to these girls. A chance to become heroes just like the rest of you." He takes a glance at the loud one with the glasses, "The three students missing from your class are _those_ three."

Startled mutters start to breakout around the room and I try to focus on Aizawa and not the voice in my head screaming ' _She's going to be my classmate?!'_ "Ahem." Aizawa growls and the class shuts up. "If any of you have a problem sharing your class with students who are _technically_ villains on parole, you better tell me now so I can switch you with a student from 1B."

There are several tense seconds where everyone is too afraid to speak, until a girl with large hands and black hair raises her hand, "Can we know what their crimes were?"

Aizawa nods, "I can't _actually_ discuss their police records with you without their consent, but I can assure you, if their crimes were violent or immoral or in anyway indicative of malintent, they would not be here. They are here because _I_ believe they have just as much potential to become great heroes as any of you, and they deserve the chance to try."

Several students nod and mutter words of approval, and Aizawa steps out from behind the podium, "Anyone want to transfer?" Most shake their heads 'no'. Others verbally state 'No sir' and I hope I did something, at this point I was panicking, _What would I say to her? 'Your words are the reason I am here? I have thought of you every day since we met even though I hated myself for it?' Would she even remember me?_

Aizawa holds up a gym uniform, "Great. Let's get to it. Put these on and head outside." I take a deep breath as I walk with the others to the lockers. _Here we go._

* * *

NOTES::

-Hey guys! Surprise! You didn't think their existence wasn't going to have any effect on anyone, right? Butterfly effect. Chance encounters. Little things. Gotta love em.

-Also This story is going to involve far more characters and interactions and relationships beyond Meiko and Tokoyami (Who hasn't even shown up yet, but he will, I promise!) There will be OC/Canon ships other than Meiko/Tokoyami as well as Canon/Canon ships that will develop. There are three main characters, and this story will not only follow their lives, but their friends as well. I hope you decide to stick with me through the fucking rollercoaster I have planned.

-Also, I was behind this week on the update since I am actually catching up with what I have written, so I need to build up a buffer again. Hopefully school will fuckin' chillax and give me time and motivation to write soon.

-Lastly, thank you all so much for your comments and reviews and kudos and favorites and all the things! I am super fucking awkward and don't know how to reply to people, but I read everything you say, and you have no idea how happy hearing from you makes me. I love you guys! I have a super bland tumblr & twitter, same name as here, but if you wanna chat or ask questions, you can find me there!

Love, -Jumb


	7. Running Down a Dream

**Meiko**

We were released early that morning into Aizawa's custody. He sounded grumpy. I couldn't tell whether or not that was because of how early it was, or if that was just _him._ It was a little rainy at first, so Chizue was actively radiating the deep reddish purple that was _pain,_ I couldn't _see_ it with the quirk suppressors, but Illidari still allowed me to sense it. She had broken her ankle running from someone on our second day of freedom from hell. We couldn't ever find a doctor. Trying to go to those shady pop-up clinics before they got shut down was always a bad idea, but we always tried. It healed eventually, but it wasn't quite right. It would ache if she exerted herself too much or if there was rain on the way. I assumed it never healed properly. We were escorted into the back of a car with Aizawa. Our bracers were still on, pumping the quirk suppressors into our bloodstream. Once we were in the car and I could feel us moving, he spoke,

"Today is your first day at U.A. I have to get there early because I am a teacher, and also because I am not allowed to remove those cuffs until we are on school grounds. It's supposed to take at least an hour for the drugs to work their way out of your system. I don't know what I'll have you do until class starts."

I see an opportunity, and I take it. "Chizue should see Recovery Girl." I felt her elbow me in the ribs, but I ignore her.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"She has an old ankle injury I believe never healed straight. It bothers her."

"It's _fine."_ She growls.

"Oh come on" I reply, "The drugs have lowered my senses to the point I can't _see_ anything but I can still sense your pain. Which means it's pretty bad."

"I can handle it." She grumbles.

Before I could retort, Aizawa interrupts me, "But you shouldn't have to. I'll take you to Recovery Girl when we arrive."

I was here. I was at U.A. I was wearing the blue and white gym uniform (I think, lines were still blurry from the drugs) _I was here._ Recovery Girl was so short, but so sweet and she reminded me so much of my grandma. I stood there beside Rin (so happy that I can see her signing now after all that time spent only communicating with her through Chizue.) She was holding onto her little 'write and erase' board that Aizawa had given her as we arrived citing 'Most people don't know sign language, and you can rely on your sister and your friend to talk for you'. We were looking down at Chizue as she laid awkwardly on the hospital bed, waiting for the results of her X-rays to come back.

Recovery girl came in several minutes later, "Well dear, it seems that Meiko here was right." She sticks the X-ray image up on the lightboard, and of course, I can't see photographs, so I wait for her to explain to the other two. "You see here, the bone was misaligned, but tried to heal up anyway. As it is, it grinds on the nerves in your ankle joint every time you move, and because of atmospheric pressure, whenever it's rainy out, the effect is worsened."

Rin writes on her board, "So, what do you do to fix it?"

Recovery girl sits in her little rolling chair, "Since it is already healed my quirk can't do much to fix it. But..." She pauses, and Chizue nods expectantly, "What I recommend would be to re-break the bone and align it _right_ this time. I can use my quirk to speed up the recovery time too. It will hurt, of course, but I can give you medicine that will-"

"Just do it." Chizue interrupts, "If you can do it now, just get it over with. I can handle pain."

Recovery Girl sighs, "If you are certain..." Chizue nods, and with that, Recovery girl and several other doctors and assistants rig Chizue's ankle up in what I can imagine looks something like a hydraulic press. In _my_ world, this would have been a surgical thing, but I guess in the world of quirks, they can be accurate enough with machinery to break bones in exactly the right spot.

Several minutes later, Rin and I are on either side of Chizue's bed holding her hands. Apparently, breaking bones really _do_ sound like minor gunshots and the red-purple spreads through her like a wave, but she doesn't let it show on her face. She does allow herself to grip our hands though, and I am thankful she was willing to at least be a _little_ weak around us.

Then, Recovery girl is kissing Chizue's head and an assistant is wrapping her ankle in bandages and fitting it with a metal brace to keep it from moving. Recovery Girl speaks, "I know you have a big day, which is why I gave you that brace, it will keep you from moving the joint even if you decide to run or jump. You'll need to wear that for the next three days, and then your ankle should be good as new! No more aches in the rain!"

"Thank you." She says.

"Of course dear, have some gummies," She places a few colored bears in her hand, and then in mine and Rin's hands as well, "You all did great. Try not to get yourselves hurt!"

Chizue stands up between us in her heavy duty metal walking boot. "Damn, this is weird to walk in." She turns to look at the clock, "Didn't Aizawa-sensei say to meet him at the ball fields in like, fifteen minutes?"

I check the clock, and yeah. She is right. We need to be heading there. "Yeah, let's go." We walk past a lot of students on our way to the fields behind the school, but none of them spare us more than a glance. We aren't wearing the normal uniforms, but we are wearing the gym gear, so we don't really look out of place. They don't know we are any different.

Rin turns toward us, signing, "This is kinda nice...just fading into a crowd."

Chizue nods, "Yeah, but how long before we stand out again?" I place my hand on her shoulder. _I know how she feels._

* * *

The three of us sit in the grass and stare at the sky until Aizawa heads our way. _This is it. I'll know who is here and who isn't. God, I hope Izuku is here. I hope I didn't fuck something up._

I stand up and Rin and Chizue follow my lead, I flick my eyes over the students, seeing them all for the first time, trying not to be overwhelmed. Surprisingly, I am able to recognize most of them on first sight. _Bakugou. Shouji. Iida. Uraraka. Asui. Yaoyorozu. Todoroki. Ojiro._ I catalog the students as my eyes fall to them, hoping I see Midoriya, but before I make it very far I see Chizue extend a finger toward someone on the opposite side of where I was looking. She is smiling, so I follow her gaze to... _Shinso Hitoshi? He's in 1-A now? and..._

"Purple Man!" She yells, and Shinsou gives a wide smile, his color a swirling mix of emotions, the most prominent being something akin to adoration. _I don't..._

"Ah, so you remember me?" He jokes, and the rest of the class turns to look at him.

"How could I forget?" She points down at her walking boot and his mood instantly dampens to the peach color of guilt. _It was him? She said that day that some aspiring young hero tackled her, broke her ankle, but felt bad about it and wrapped it up. I checked to make sure it wasn't Midoriya but I didn't think to ask about other characters..._

"How? That was two years ago?" He stammers as she mutters a hushed "Long story." Her eyes moving elsewhere. So I follow their line of sight.

Midoriya. He is taller and much buffer and he is looking at me with tears in his eyes, but a hopeful smile on his face, "M-Meiko?"

It's like a dam breaks in my heart, a thousand memories of our childhood hitting me at once, the burning of tears in my eye sockets, "Izuku!" I open my arms and take a step but I hesitate. _What if he hates me? What if-_

My thoughts are interrupted by strong arms surrounding me, I was always a few centimeters taller than him, but not now. He has grown up. My head is pulled into his shoulder as he rubs my back, my arms wrap around his waist, "You're okay?! I missed you!" Then suddenly he pulls away, holding me at arms length, "Why are you wearing a blindfold? What happened? What-"

A loud cough interrupts him and we turn to see Aizawa standing there, looking fairly annoyed, "I'm a little surprised to see some of you know each other. But we have more important things to worry about. You can chit-chat on your own time. Right now, we are going to do a Quirk Assessment Test."

"What?! A quirk assessment test?" Most of the class responds at once. I notice that most of them are giving the three of us more space than most, but we are still fairly close to them. _Aizawa must have told them who we are. I guess it makes sense._

Ochako near the front speaks first, "But Orientation? We're gonna miss it!"

He stares off into the distance as he answers her, "If you really wanna make the big leagues you can't waste time on pointless ceremonies. Here at U.A. We're not tethered to traditions. That means that I get to run my class however I see fit." He slowly turns to face the group as people gasp, "You've been taking standardized tests most of your lives, but you never got to use your quirks on physical exams before." He holds up his phone and a list of activities, "The country is still trying to pretend we are all created equal by not letting those with the most power excel. It's not rational. One day the ministry of education will learn."

I see Rin beside me, "He's kind of a hard ass. I like it." I nod, and Chizue smirks.

"Bakugou." Aizawa speaks, "You managed to get the most points on the entrance exam, what was the farthest distance throw with a softball in highschool?"

"82 meters I think." He responds. That's when I notice Chizue has moved from beside me and is slowly moving through the crowd, very lightly touching people with her fingertips. _She is gathering quirks for the test. She is crafty._ Most don't even notice she has touched them. Amateurs.

"Try doing it with your quirk." Aizawa states, and Chizue lightly taps Bakugou's elbow just before he steps forward. He doesn't notice. "Anything goes, just stay in the circle."

As he warms up, and Aizawa prods, "Hurry up. You're wasting our time." I take the chance to look at the class. There is only one girl here I don't recognize, but that could just make her Hagakure. I am going to assume that until proved otherwise. Beyond that, the people missing are Mineta, Aoyama, Sado and Koda. I am sure they might have ended up in class B though. Frankly, the only one I was worried not to see was Aoyama, the others never got involved much. Aoyama played some roles in later arcs, I would have to account for that.

Just as I thought, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow both had their own souls. I could see both of them even while Dark Shadow was inside of him. I was trying not to stare at him. I wished I could have seen him with real eyes. In color. But I guess beggars can't be choosers.

The loud boom of Bakugou's pitch snaps me out of my staring at the back of Tokoyami beautiful bird head, and Aizawa's voice floats through the air, "All of you need to know your maximum capabilities. It's the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a pro hero." He holds up his phone, revealing Bakugou's score to be be 715 meters. Of course, the class is impressed. All excited about how much fun this is going to be. Which trigger's Aizawa's no nonsense sadism I loved so much,

"So this looks like fun huh? You have three years here to become a hero. You think it's all gonna be games and play time? Idiots." His eyes darken and an ominous smile drifts across his lips, and I can't help but think of how hard it's going to be to _not_ think about how damn attractive my teacher is. "You'll compete in eight physical tests to gauge your potential, whoever comes in last has none and will be expelled immediately." His voice lowers even further at the end, and I smirk as everyone gasps in horror. I glance over at Midoriya and can see his panic. I was hoping that maybe this time around, because I had forced him into MMA, he would have had to train less and get One for All with enough time to get used to it. It would appear that was not the case.

"Like I said, _I_ get to decide how this class runs, _understand_? If that's a problem you can head home right now."

Ochako speaks out again about how it isn't _fair._ And Aizawa peels into her about how life isn't fair and the job of a hero is to balance out the unfairness. Go beyond plus ultra and all that.

As we walked towards the track for the 50 meter dash, I stared at Midoriya's back. I wanted to encourage him, but I knew this was something he had to do on his own. Chizue and Rin are on either side of me, and Rin is the first to speak, er, sign, "So, the broccoli boy is your friend? The important one?" I nod.

To my surprise, Chizue signs too, "So, do you know the Purple Man?" I smile and nod. And she scowls a bit, "Did I fuck things up by meeting him? Because I didn't know..."

"Surely not too much." I whisper. And she nods.

When we make it to the dash zone, the races pretty much go how I remember them. Shinso actually beats out Midoriya. But when Bakugou makes the comment that his quirk has more uses than anyone at this school Chizue barks a laugh, he shoots her a death glare, "You got somethin' to say, blondie?"

She smiles and shakes her head, "Nah, you can go ahead and keep thinkin' that."

Aizawa speaks, "Alright then, Chizue and Rin, you're up." And then, my two best friends are at the start line. As the whistle blows, I see Rin shoot her threads to the end of the track and pull them like bungee cords to launch herself forward. Chizue winks at Bakugou, and then completely imitates him, winning the race against her sister by propelling herself forward with explosions from her palms. Walking boot or no, she still has a smaller build that gets her a shorter time than Bakugou by a few tenths of a second.

"How the hell did you get my quirk?!" He screams, and she just smiles,

"You should really pay more attention to your surroundings." She glances at the others, "All of you should. I was able to touch _all of you_ and nobody noticed."

I hear Aizawa chuckle before clearing his throat, "Meiko and Shouji. Go."

The others fall back into the group, Bakugou still seething, as I step up to the line. I glance to Aizawa, "Do I change myself now, or after the whistle blows?"

He shrugs, "I don't care." So I take a moment to borrow Illidari's legs, I feel the eyes and shock as the others watch the black liquid cover my legs and give me several centimeters in height. I figure running is quicker than flying for this exercise, and my arms and wings would just slow me down. When the whistle sounds, I run. As hard as I can. I'm faster than Shouji, but not nearly as fast as Iida. I'll take it.

"Hey Nightlight!" I glance over at Bakugou's old nickname for me, "That's not your fucking quirk."

I shrug, "A lot has changed since then, Bakugou." I decide to just maintain the legs, I'll need them again, and breaking down and reforming is harder than just leaving them, even if having hooves is very strange to walk around in. As I walk back to the group I notice Tokoyami staring at me with curiosity. _Ah yes. Your obsession with the darkness and the fact that I literally ooze it from my pores._ I meet his eyes and he tilts his head slightly as he looks at me and I have to look away. _Please stop looking at me like that. I can't handle it._

For the next few tests I end up adopting almost the whole ensemble of demon appendages. Her arms for the grip test. Her wings for the standing long jump. The other students weren't nearly as alarmed as I thought they would be. Chizue kept using Bakugou's quirk for the tests, I wasn't sure if it was because they were best suited for them, or if she just liked to piss him off. Knowing her, it was both. Rin was holding her own with her threads. Her quirk had so many uses but these weren't really it.

The next test was the ball throw. Most people did pretty well. Uraraka got an infinity score. We all watched as Midoriya tried to throw the ball but was stopped by Aizawa. Most of the class huddled to discuss Aizawa being Eraserhead, but Chizue, Rin and I watched Aizawa lecture Midoriya.

They looked to me for answers, "Right now, Midoriya can't use his quirk without breaking his bones. Aizawa thinks he doesn't deserve to be here for that reason."

They both nod and the class watches as Midoriya steps back into the circle. I hold my breath as Midoriya throws, sacrificing a single finger for his throw. I glance back at Aizawa's totoro grin. As the class praises him, Bakugou snaps, charging him, only to be caught in Aizawa's capture weapon. As Midoriya steps back into the group I give him a huge smile, "You did great Midoriya."

"Thanks" I can see him tear up as he looks at me, "Will you tell me about everything? After all of this?"

"Yeah I will."

Several people take their turns until finally, Chizue is up, stepping into the circle. She hesitates for a moment, looking over the class, perhaps analyzing her options, before Bakugou taunts her, "You know, to have laughed at my quirk earlier you seem to be using it an awful lot!"

She raises a brow and sighs, "I have been using your quirk to piss you off, asshole. Also, it was either yours or this Ice and Fire one, but fire without combustion doesn't have as much propulsion, and utilizing this ice _properly_ would mean putting weight on my _stupid_ foot." She taps her right ring finger onto her right palm before throwing the ball, and it slowly drifts off into space, just like Uraraka's throw. Bakugou makes a Tch noise that he doesn't realize Chizue can't hear.

Aizawa shows us her infinity score, and calls Shinso next, but as they pass each other, Chizue grabs his arm, pulling his tall frame down slightly to whisper in his ear, "He said anything goes, just don't leave the circle. This is your chance to show what you can _do._ " She smirks glancing at Bakugou, "I recommend proving yourself by using the person who would never, _ever_ help you."

He smiles down at her and the warmth of his adoration for her increases, "I like the way you think." _Oh my God he_ adores _her. Chizue only mentioned the guy who broke her ankle in passing, but it seems like to him, it must have been something huge._

 **Why do you seem so surprised? Weren't the three of you supposed to fall in love or something?**

 _Yeah but...Chizue was paired with Todoroki. Shinso wasn't even_ here. _Actually, I sorta wondered if he would be able to hold onto his dream through highschool with everyone always assuming the worst of him. But he is_ here. _In the hero course, not general studies. How the hell did he do that?_

Shinso steps into the circle, glancing quickly at Aizawa before turning to Bakugou, "Your name's Bakugou right?"

"Yeah, what's it-" He growls before cutting off and Shinsou just smiles. I can see Bakugou's aura turn to a muted blue. Not annoyed. Not angry. Not anything.

"Come over here and use your quirk to throw this ball for me."

Everyone watches in confused awe as Bakugou silently steps into the circle. Shinso kneels behind him to avoid the recoil of the explosion as Bakugou throws the ball. Of course, the instant the explosion actually occurs and Bakugou's body is shaken he snaps out of it. Glancing first at the ball flying away and then around himself, "What the hell did you do to me, freak?!"

Shinso hops back, hands up in faux surrender, "My quirk is brainwashing. I made you throw the ball for me."

"You little-!" Bakugou starts to charge at him, but for the second time today is grabbed in Aizawa's scarf.

"Stand down. The point was to use your quirk to do the best you could. He did that."

His palms crackle as Aizawa returns his quirk and let's him go, "Then why me? Why not Round Face over there?!"

Shinso shrugs, "She's too nice. People might have just assumed she agreed to help me on her own."

Bakugou's eye twitches but he stalks back into the crowd. Shinso's score was just a few meters lower than Bakugou's normal one. _Perhaps because he woke up at the last second?_

Aizawa grunts, "You're wasting time. Next person up."

Rin is the one to step up next, she stares at the ball in her in her hand as if contemplating something. To my right I can hear Midoriya muttering to himself, "Her quirk seems like it lets her make invisible ropes she can use to manipulate objects...hard to use for this...unless she used the ropes to swing the ball around and gave it momentum before letting it fly..."

Chizue pops up between us, throwing an arm over each of our shoulders. Midoriya lets out an adorable yeep of surprise, "It's a little hard to read your lips when you mumble like that, but from what I can tell, you are on the right track...but Rin can do _so_ much more than she has shown." Midoriya faces Chizue for a moment before turning back towards Rin, who is now glancing across the crowd thoughtfully, Chizue continues, "I think we have inspired her." Rin scribbles something on her board and holds it up, but not in our direction, it's directed further to the left of us. The words read, " _Don't hate me for this."_

She gives the class time to read the words and then she lifts her right hand, and countless thin threads branch out from her fingers and palm to latch onto Shouji. He starts to walk towards the circle, and I can see the surprise rush through him,

Bakugou yells, "Oh come on, _she_ has mind control too?!"

"Not mind control." Shouji speaks through a newly formed mouth on his upper right tentacle. "I can control my mind...and my quirk...just not my body." He continues stalking towards the circle. Rin's eyes never leaving him, her fingers twitching ever so slightly as she controls her puppet. He bends to reach down and pick up the ball, throwing it into the distance. When Aizawa smirks ever so lightly and holds up the results, it reads 520 meters. Just forty meters below Shouji's normal score. Rin shakes her hand and releases the threads as soon as the ball is thrown, quickly signing a 'sorry' as her very short body looks up to the exceptionally tall Shouji, she pauses realizing her mistake, reaching down for her board attached to her hip,

He interrupts, apparently speaking with his actual mouth below his mask "No. I can sign. Thought it might be useful in covert missions." He tilts his head towards her slightly, "No apologies necessary. Good job."

Midoriya speaks out suddenly, loud enough for everyone to hear, "I think I understand! She creates and controls invisible threads that can be attached to objects for telekinesis like moves, but when attached to a person, they control that person's body like a puppet! She has no control over the mind however, so she can't make the person use their quirk, which is why she picked Shouji, he had the best score through inherent abilities!"

Rin nods before holding up a thumbs up. Midoriya beams a smile, even with his broken finger, and Chizue leans into me, "Hey, what did big man say to my sister?"

"That he could sign and no apologies were necessary." I reply.

"It's hard for her to control body parts she doesn't have. His six arms must have been a struggle to manipulate."

Midoriya continues to fanboy, "But she did it so casually, she's incredible!" He stammers before facing Chizue with a worried look, "N-Not that you aren't! Y-You're incredible too!"

She smirks and pats his shoulder, "You're cute when you're flustered." He blushes, "Don't worry, Meiko told us a lot about you. You're her friend, so that makes you our friend too."

"O-oh!" He stutters, still blushing, "I'm Izuku Midoriya! It's nice to meet you! Your name is Chizue, right? Is that your first name or-?"

"Rin and I don't use our last name." She still smiles, "Good to meet you, Midoriya!"

I didn't even realize Rin had come back until I saw her slightly tired playful expression as she held up her board saying 'Nice to meet you.'

I only managed about 400 meters on the ball throw. The upcoming tests of the toe touch, sit-ups and long distance run went off without anything spectacular happening. I landed in the middle of scores, Chizue kept up with the other top spots, and Rin was just slightly above the ones with quirks not suited for physical activities. At the end, Midoriya came in last, with Hagakure, Jirou and Shinso right above him. Actually, I was surprised Shinso wasn't as bad as Midoriya. Apparently he had buffed up in this timeline. Of course, Midoriya didn't get sent home, Aizawa giving him a note to go see Recovery Girl and warning him to be prepared for tomorrow.

It wasn't a full day of class, so after the Quirk test people got ready to go home. We switched out of our gym uniforms and into the regular ones. The girls of class 1-A introduced themselves to the three of us in the locker-room and seemed overall very inviting. They seemed a little wary, but hopefully that would get better in time. They all made a conscious effort not to stare at the scars I knew had to cover Chizue's and Rin's bodies, which I think they appreciated. We all went back to the classroom to grab the syllabus, and there the class met up once again. Sort of. Most people had already left. Midoriya had said that his mom expected him home so I told him I would talk to him tomorrow. There would be plenty of time for me to try and explain the last three years to him. I sat in one of the desks in homeroom next to a reading Rin as I listened passively to Chizue explaining to Shinso about her ankle. How it never healed right and she had to have it rebroken. She punched him in the shoulder and told him not to feel bad about it. When he actually introduced himself (for apparently the first time) and she repeated his name back to him, and gave him hers, it was like an explosion of color. She looked at him with more fondness than the other classmates, but he looked at her like the sun shined out of her ass. _I wonder how that will play out._

I was pulled from my eavesdropping by a deep, thick and viscous voice, and I knew immediately who it was, "Excuse me?"

I whipped my head around and sure enough, Tokoyami was standing beside me, his arms crossed across his chest, and the way he stood was a little awkward. Then I realized why he looked different. I couldn't see his color. Why couldn't I see his color?

 **I turned your view of his emotions off. If I am to view this attraction you have to this boy as a real experience, I can't have you cheating.**

I was about to internally yell at her when Tokoyami shuffled on his feet and I realized I hadn't answered. _Fucking idiot._ "Uh, hi!" I blurted. _Smooth._

"I uh." He lowers his beak ever so slightly as he looks at me, "I wanted to know more about your quirk...if you don't mind me asking."

"I-" _Wait what? What did he want to know?_ **I think his shadow beast may be able to sense me as I sense it.** _Wait, really?_ "Your shadow beast can sense my Tengu bitch?" They weren't my best words. But they were words, at least.

Tokoyami opens his beak but before he can, Dark Shadow pops up to his left, "I _knew_ you felt strange!"

Tokoyami shoots a glare in his direction, but glances back to me before he speaks, "What do you mean by that?"

I sigh. Here we go, "We both have supernatural entities bound to our souls that we utilize as quirks. You have Dark Shadow," I glance to him with a smile, "Your shadow beast, and I have Illidari, my Tengu Demon. Of course, we use them and communicate with them in different ways."

"I have been under the impression that though Dark Shadow is sentient, he is just my quirk." Dark Shadow pouts a 'hey!' beside him.

"No. He has his own soul." Illidari is feeding me useful information as I speak, "Apparently, your quirk may have something to do with strengthening and controlling him. Illidari says she has met several Shadow Beasts but none that were bound to humans, and none that were capable of speech or intelligent thought."

"Really?" Dark Shadow responds, "I don't remember anything before Fumikage."

"And I remember very little from before Dark Shadow." Tokoyami adds.

Illidari continues to speak, and I relay, "She says that Shadows need to be bound to something living and feed off of small amounts of energy. You are most likely to find them bound to old trees. Her guess is that whatever you were bound to before died and displaced you, so you hopped to the next best host, which was a human child."

 **We can see if you like.**

"Wait what?" I didn't realize I had said that out loud until Tokoyami and Dark Shadow looked at me curiously. **Let me take over for a moment. I promise I won't do anything nefarious.** _Fine._

We had only done this a few times. In emergency situations. It felt very _wrong_ to surrender control of one's own body. But it was probably better than being a relay. I was still looking through my eyes and I could feel my mouth moving, but it wasn't my voice. It was hers.

" **Hello. My name is Illidari. Meiko has given me control for now so I can help the two of you dear souls properly."** Tokoyami looked very startled. I could imagine hearing the almost ghostly sound of her voice for the first time would be jarring. Especially if he were expecting my voice. My arm oozes and turns into hers and she holds her hand out in invitation.

" **Dark Shadow. Like you, I am a creature of darkness, but I get the feeling that I have existed for much longer. If you'd like to place your hand in mine, it might rekindle your memories of a time before the light."**

"The light?" Tokoyami asks.

" **Yes. Human souls are very bright. Warm. Inviting. Binding to them is quite frowned upon, but I would argue that it is worth it."**

Dark Shadow frowns, "Will it change anything about me if I remember?"

" **It shouldn't. Your bond with Tokoyami is very strong. Not only a bond of symbiotic benefit, but also of friendship. Nothing should change. Of course, you don't** _ **have**_ **to remember. I merely thought you might like the opportunity to try."**

Dark Shadow and Tokoyami exchange a glance, before Tokoyami nods, "It is your choice."

Dark Shadow takes a moment, but places his hand(?) in ours. I don't feel or see anything but the contact, but when he pulls away a few seconds later, he seems happier, so I guess something happened.

"Fumikage! She was right!" The shadow bounces around as he speaks, "I was living at the base of a tree when it was cut down. Construction I think, but then I saw your mom walk by, and you were still a little baby on the inside, so you didn't really feel that much different from a tree at the time, so I clung to you! We really have been together since the beginning!"

I see Tokoyami's lips (as close to lips as he really has) turn up into a smile, and he turns back to us. "Thank you. I don't know how to repay you for this kindness."

" **No payment necessary. The two of you are interesting. I like you."** She reaches out and strokes Dark Shadow's head, and he gives a contented purr, but then, she extends the same hand towards Tokoyami, the tip of the claw on our middle finger brushing his soft feathered cheek as he stands there in shock, " **Both of you."**

I manage to wrench control back, yelling out loud, "Enough!", pulling my hand away from his face and stare at him for a moment before I can think, "I am _so_ sorry. She had _no right_ to touch you without your consent, she can be..." I couldn't even find the right words. I was panicking, I could feel Rin watching me as one would watch a go-cart wreck, with slight worry but mostly amusement. "I'm just gonna go now."

I stand up and make my break for the exit when I feel a warm hand with calloused fingers around my left wrist, "Meiko, wait." He starts as I turn back to look at him, I could practically see the indecision about calling me by my first name before he pushes it down. His eyes intense as they meet where mine would be, "It's perfectly alright. If anyone understands...it's me. I wanted to thank _you_ as well." His eyes drop to his hand still wrapped around my wrist and he suddenly drops it.

"O-of course. No problem. And uh...Meiko is fine." I manage to stutter out. _He really needs to stop looking at me like that. Even in shades of gray his eyes are beautiful and so damn_ striking.

He re-crosses his arms across his head and gives me a nod, "I'll be heading home now. See you tomorrow...Meiko." He walks by me and Dark Shadow pops back out long enough to give me a smile and a wave from his back.

Once the door closes I sit back down with a sigh of relief, finally noticing that Rin, Chizue, _and_ Shinso are all staring at me. Chizue breaks the silence, "Uh, you okay there?"

I swallow several more times, trying to lower my fangirling heartbeat, "Fine. Totally fine." I am breathing heavily from only one real interaction. _I am so not ready for this._

"You sure? Cause I have seen you _literally_ fighting for your life, but I have never seen you freak out as much as you did right now."

Shinso smirks, "Oh? Does someone have a crush?"

I glare at his smug smile, covering my mouth with my hands, "You should know that I see _feelings,_ and you do _not_ want to head down that road with me, Shinso!"

He has the most amusing look of panic, which most likely matches mine, and Chizue looks between us before glaring at me, "Bitch, what did you say that you didn't want me to see?" Her eyes shift to slightly behind me and I see Rin, giving me a conspiratorial smirk, signing,

"Don't worry about it." When Chizue begins to protest Rin continues, putting on her scary face, "If it were important, I'd tell you."

Chizue scowls, taking another glare at me before turning to face Shinso, "Will you tell me what she said?" Her eyes soften and I half expect him to buckle under her puppy dog eyes, but he surprises me,

"Not a chance." He says it with a sexy lopsided smirk and that deeper voice he reserves for threats and taunts, leaning back and away from her in that uncomfortable desk seat he was sitting in backwards.

I see the flash of anger through her, but more than that was the dark red of lust. Just a flash, but I noticed it. _Ah, it appears you aren't immune. I was beginning to think you weren't human._ She recovers quickly, replying with a dramatic pout followed by a, "Well, fuck you too, then."

As he laughs I turn back around to Rin and notice her watching their interactions too. She may not be able to see emotions, but she can read people like open books. She slides me her board, still on the desk so they can't read it, "Ah young love."

I smile, giving her a nod. Whispering behind my hand, "Since the two of us are making fools of ourselves, did anyone catch _your_ ever watchful eyes?"

I see the quick exhale that is her laugh, and she shrugs, erasing and writing on her board, "Nobody in particular. I am just enjoying the eye buffet."

I raise a brow, inviting her to continue, and she erases again, writing more, "Lots of very attractive boys and girls in this class. I can't decide whom I wish to eyefuck."

I laugh, drawing the attention of Chizue and Shinso as I answer, "You and me, both."

Suddenly, the door opens up again and a very tired looking Aizawa walks through, glancing over the room, "Good to see the three of you didn't escape..." His eyes land on Shinso, "Why are you still here?"

"Well" He starts, spinning around in the chair so he is facing the front and Aizawa, "Actually, I wasn't sure if we were going to continue our extracurriculars now that class has started."

Aizawa sighs, "I'll train you with the rest of your class. You've proved you deserve to be here. It's a level playing field now. You should enjoy your free time while you have it." He shrugs, "Besides, I have to play warden to these fugitives."

He turns to Chizue, "Mind telling me why you have kept your fists clenched since we began the quirk test?"

Chizue jolts ever so slightly and I glance to her hands. I hadn't even noticed them being tightly clenched. _What if...?_ I look more closely at her color, I saw the pain for most of the day, but assumed it was her ankle, but now, looking closer intentionally I can see that most of her pain stems from her hands. "It's nothing."

Aizawa closes his eyes and sighs deeply, "Alright, listen up kid. I have no idea what kind of _shitshow_ you have lived through that makes you think that pain is something to keep to yourself, but you need to stop. Things are different now. If you are in pain, you tell me, and we take care of it. Deal?" He stalks over to her, holding out his hand and I can see the outline of something on his open palm, "Bakugou's hands have had years to build up calluses and tolerances against burns. Yours haven't. I respect your ability to fight through pain and not let it control you, but there is no reason to hide it now. It's just us."

Chizue huffs, "Fine". She reaches out and grabs the small objects from his hand, popping them into her mouth. _Ah, the healing gummies._ When her hands open though, I can sort of smell the burnt flesh and blood, and looking beyond her to Shinso I can see his thinly veiled concern. _Boy's got it bad._ "I didn't realize how much he had externally trained his own skin until like, the fourth test." She shrugs, "As cocky as he is, it's pretty hardcore. The glycerin gets in the open wounds and stings like a bitch too, but I wanted to do well, and I couldn't show weakness after calling him an asshole to his face."

Aizawa leans back against a student desk, a few in front of Rin and I and across from Shinso and Chizue, "Why not use Yaoyorozu or Todoroki's quirks instead?"

"Using Todoroki's flames _after_ I had filled my hands with Bakugou's glycerin would have just burnt me much worse. His ice would have only helped me slide, and my ankle limits my agility. And the creation quirk? Useless for me. I get the quirk, but I don't know how materials work, I couldn't actually _make_ anything."

Aizawa hums thoughtfully, crossing his arms across his chest, "Can you use more than one at once?"

"Yes and no." She sighs, "I _can,_ but it's ill-advised. Using two at once pushes me into what I call the danger zone. It starts a timer. Once I have done it, I can use as many as I have, use up to all ten as I need them...the catch is, once I stop...I am _done._ "

"What do you mean by _that_?" Aizawa probes.

She chuckles, "Okay, so say I decide to push myself into the danger zone. I fight like hell with all the quirks at my disposal. Let's say I fight for _five minutes._ " She pauses, "After I relax and consciously decide to _stop,_ the timer ends, and _then,_ I pay the consequences. If I fought for five minutes, then as soon as I stopped I would fall into a coma for twenty hours. Complete vegetable. Need a feeding tube. Breathing tube. The whole shebang. After that time is up, I wake up, and I am fine."

"So...if I understand this right," Aizawa starts, "Every minute spent in your so-called _danger-zone_ means about four hours in a coma after you stop?"

"Yup!" She answers cheerfully, "So, it can be done in emergency situations, but its not entirely practical for regular use."

"What else can you do with your quirk?" Aizawa continues, hesitance in his voice.

Chizue chuckles, leaning back to mirror Aizawa's stance as best she can while sitting, "You're wondering if I can destroy quirks like my father?" She pauses, and Aizawa nods slightly, "Yeah...I can. But I don't. I _can_ disable the quirk still. A temporary thing while the quirk is in my fingers. The quirk is only permanently destroyed if I break my fingers with the intent to do so. It's not like I can throw a punch and accidentally destroy someone's quirk. That would be unfortunate... I can also strengthen a person's quirk to some extent. Depends on which part of my finger I store them in."

"That's...interesting. What are the downsides?"

Chizue shrugs, "The balance of my quirk was that while I held someone's quirk, I had to follow their verbal commands. Father didn't care much for that downside that came from my mother's quirk, so he fixed it." She huffs, gesturing to her ears, "Can't follow commands you can't hear."

I saw Shinso start to reach out to grab her hand, but stop just short, most likely realizing that she doesn't need or want pity. Aizawa hums thoughtfully, "I see, thank you for telling me about your quirk...I think it will be very useful in training, not only for yourself, but for the others as well."

"What do you mean by that?" She responds,

"I mean that most of these kids rely on their quirks. Also, that the three-," He glances to Shinso, "Four of you have more combat training than the others. Having you here to spar with them and help them grow will be good for them. Surely they will realize that in time and help you in the subjects you will undoubtedly be behind in." Chizue glares a bit and Aizawa continues, "Yes. You are smart, but you also have never been to a school. I'm sure algebra wasn't a top priority in your father's training."

After a few seconds, Rin taps on the desk and all eyes turn to her, her board held up to the rest of us, "Mother wasn't completely useless. We aren't as far behind as you might think." After giving us a few moments to read, she erases and continues, "But yeah, help will probably be necessary."

Aizawa nods, and glances down at his watch, "We should get going. I have patrol tonight, and I need to hand you off to your other watcher." He looks once again to Shinso, "Go home. I'll see you in class tomorrow. You should probably continue to practice with your scarf on your own."

Shinso nods, before standing, exiting the room with a bow, a goodbye and a lingering glance to Chizue. Almost immediately Aizawa speaks again, glare directed at Chizue, "Explain."

She sighs dramatically, "I don't know what there is to say, I mean...I guess it was around two years ago, right after we escaped that hell and Rin and Meiko were hurt, I didn't know what else to do except steal some food and medicine. Well, Purple Man was there. Tried to be a hero. Chased me down. Ended up breaking my ankle. Then he saw I was just stealing food and bandages and apparently felt bad, so he wrapped it up for me. Of course, I talked to him. He was nice to me. Nicer than anyone else other than Rin and Meiko. He talked about his sob story about always being assumed to be a villain and giving up on his dream of being a hero because of it. Of course, that pissed me off. It was a stupid reason. Easily fixed. I told him as much. Told him to go after it as hard as he could. To make people see what he was made of." She sighs, "Since he is here, I guess he did it. I'm proud of the ankle-breaking asshole."

Aizawa shrugged, making a noise that sounded a lot like a 'huh'. Several moments of silence drag out between the four of us before he speaks again, "I have patrol tonight, so I am leaving you with Yagi. He got called away to _something,_ but he is supposed to be back here to pick you up in an hour or so. I planned to take you all to the teacher's lounge until then because I have to go as soon as possible."

As soon as he uttered those words, inspiration struck me, and I blurted, "Can I talk with the principal until then?"

Aizawa narrows his eyes, his color dampening just a little bit with confusion and suspicion, "Why do you want to see Nezu?"

"Because..." I pause, deliberating for a moment before landing on the truth. Aizawa would know if I was lying, "Because I know the future, and I don't know what to do with that information, but if anyone could help me, I think it's him."

He stares for a moment, still in body but his aura swirling in thought, "Fair enough, I'll take you to him and you two-" He between the twins, "will stay with Present Mic in the teacher's lounge."

 _Well. Time to fuck shit up I guess._

* * *

NOTES::

Look! A wild Tokoyami appeared! And Meiko (cause she's sorta me) freaked the fuck out. Of course. How could she not? Meeting your favorite character in a fanfiction -esque world where you ~know you are supposed to be romantically involved -scary!

I have chapter 8 written, but nothing past that, so I won't post it until I have at least chapter 9 ready for you. Writing is hard guys. Like, I have scenes I really want to write, but there is so much STUFF that has to happen between, and that's the part that gets me.

Your comments and reviews and everything give me life and the strength to go on, like, dayum. Thank ya'll.

Love, -Jumb


	8. Meta AF

NOTES::

I still have to write the next chapter. Sorry. School/work is crazy right now. But on a personal note I finally saw someone about my depression and lack of motivation to do anything, and I got some synthetic happy which will hopefully help me out. (Motivation to write for ya'll hopefully!) Also, Midoriya is so hard to write.

Also, for those who didn't see, I have another story in the series, which will be where I drop the one-shots that go along with this story, but won't fit in the main storyline very well. Enjoy!

* * *

I stare into the steaming mug of tea in front of me. It smelled good, but the fact remains that I really grew up in Tennessee, and I couldn't handle tea that wasn't super sweet and thoroughly iced. But I was thirsty, and hella nervous. So fuck it. I lifted the mug to my lips and hesitantly sipped the hot liquid.

The Principal looked at me from across his desk. I could see his smile, and it's worth noting that his color spectrum was different than a human's but also different than an animal's. He was a new challenge entirely, "I understand that you wanted to speak to me about something important?"

I nod. Sipping again, "What have Aizawa and Yagi told you about me?"

He blinks a few times, his careful cheerful mask fully in place, "Just that you are a young woman who shows great potential for heroism despite your historical background and that they believe you deserve a chance to prove yourself."

His voice never wavered. But his color did, ever so slightly, "Don't lie. I know that you are." I tried not to sound accusatory, but I think I failed.

He chuckled slightly, sipping his own tea, "They may have also mentioned you have an interesting quirk and that for some reason, you seem to know information you could not possibly know."

"Right. That's what I am here about." I sit my tea down on the table and lean forward, "I don't know that the _fuck_ I am doing."

I was half expecting him to comment on my language, but instead he just calmly continued, "I need more information if you want any sort of advice."

I sigh, _Here we fucking go._ "Pick a classic western comic book character you have a working knowledge of."

Surprisingly, he played along, humming thoughtfully, "How about Spiderman?"

I nod, "Okay that works...Let's say on the way home today, you got hit by a bus and died. But instead of heaven or hell or Shangri La or whatever the fuck, you wake up in the world of _Spiderman._ " I pause, looking at him staring at me intensely. "You wake up, and all around you are fictional characters you know. Peter Parker. Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy. J Jonah Jameson on the radio. The whole shebang. They are all _real_ now."

"Okay. I am following I think. Where are you headed with this?"

"So this is your life now. You are in a new body with a new name. You are friends with Peter Parker because you _love_ spiderman and couldn't resist. But here's the kicker, right? The spider hasn't bitten him yet. Uncle Ben hasn't been killed and convinced him to become a hero. Gwen Stacy hasn't died and changed his life. None of that has happened yet."

Nedzu tilted his head ever so slightly, "So this is a question of morality, is it not? You are asking if _I,_ in this situation, would let Uncle Ben die because I knew that is what was supposed to happen to turn Peter Parker into a hero?"

"Yes." I answer. Swallowing thickly before remembering I had tea on the table and picking that up to calm myself instead.

"The situation could be looked at in two ways, either you resign yourself to the fact that things are supposed to happen in exactly one way to maintain the timeline. In which case, you say nothing. You let Uncle Ben die. You let Gwen die. You allow things to progress exactly how they were meant to without your pre-cognisance. " He sips his tea with a slight smirk, "Or you try to improve things where you can. Perhaps you interfere or drop a tip that let's Uncle Ben get attacked, but escape with his life. Try to push Peter in the direction he is meant to go while minimizing lives lost. Of course, this would most likely alter the timeline in unforeseen ways."

I stare at the teacup in my hand wishing I could see the steam I feel on my face. "Death is where you draw the line? Interfere to save lives but not to prevent bodily harm?"

He chuckles lightly, "If I were in this position I would have to realize that I am not all powerful. Even if I knew what was going to happen, would I truly be able to prevent things completely? I would have to acknowledge my own weaknesses. Personally, I would see my knowledge as a useful tool, and knowing that, if I meddled _too_ much in the timeline, my knowledge would then become null and void, would it not?"

"You haven't really answered the question." I look back up at him, "what would you _do?_ "

He hums thoughtfully once again, "If I were in that situation, surrounded by previously fictional characters who were now completely real, people I would have undoubtedly come to harbor real feelings for, I wouldn't be able to stand by and let people die if there was something I could do to prevent it. That being said, I couldn't bring myself to stop the spider either. Or prevent all trauma. In a world of heroes and villains like _Spiderman,_ some trials and tribulations will be necessary for growth not only as a hero but as a person. It would be exceedingly difficult, but I would try my best to make sure that events that were _supposed_ to occur, still occurred, but perhaps with better outcomes?"

I stared into the now empty cup and the outlines of some leaves resting on the bottom. _He said basically what I was intending to do anyway. It still seems so difficult though. What would I do? There weren't any major character deaths up until the Overhaul arc, but there were a lot of close calls. If any little thing changes it could have dire consequences it-_

"Meiko." He interrupts. "Who is Peter Parker?"

I looked back up to him very suddenly. I knew he was the smartest person in this world. That's why I came to him. I was hoping he wouldn't ask though. "Midoriya."

"Hmm...Then I guess Toshinori is the spider, then?" He pauses, "Or is he Uncle Ben?"

I inhale sharply at what he is implying with those words, "I died before the story was finished, but at that time there was only one major character death. Much later into the story than we are now. There were so many close calls though, and so many little things have already changed. Those close calls could easily become deaths. I worry that I already stepped on the butterfly that causes a friend's death. I worry about what I say and what I do. I worry that I won't be able to lie to Midoriya's face. I _worry. All the time._ " My throat tightens, and my empty eye sockets start to burn with tears that can't be shed.

"So don't lie." He says with entirely too much pep.

" _What?"_ I sit the cup on the table with a loud clink as I lean towards him.

"I am not saying you should shout it out to the world, but if Midoriya matters to you as much as you say he does, and if lying is causing you such emotional strain, then tell him the truth." He hums again, "I am assuming from the way you speak that the world you came from was like the mundane world that existed pre-quirks. Perhaps that is why you wish to keep everything to yourself. To _you_ this whole thing sounds entirely preposterous...but in _this_ world, there are quirks that can do almost anything. Nothing is truly impossible. This isn't as insane of a proposition as you seem to think it is." He chuckles, "Sure, the idea that I was nothing more than a comic book character in your original timeline is a little odd to think about, but it isn't something I _can't_ come to terms with."

"So, I should tell Midoriya the truth? All of it? Except for the future of course..."

He hums in agreement, "Most people understand the dangers of precognitive quirks, and this isn't much different. I suspect whomever you wish to tell would understand that you won't be able to tell them much. However, friendship and trust are very important aspects of a relationship, especially a hero's relationship. I think that just alleviating the burden of untruths from your shoulders would make it more bearable for you to handle the struggles of knowing when to meddle and when to bide." He smirks and chuckles to himself, "Also, with what I have seen from, and heard about Midoriya, he is very observant, and you aren't as coy as you think you are. He probably suspects there is something more to you already. As his friend, you should tell him the truth."

"What about the others?"

He hums again, and I am starting to wonder if I like that sound or absolutely despise it, "I would say tell people when you feel it is right. Tell people when they stop being characters from a book and start being people you truly care about. Don't tell your beloved characters, tell your _friends."_

"That's..." _Fucking perfect,_ "Thank you. I'll do that."

"Feel free to come by anytime for advice or even just for tea!" He says cheerfully, but the intensity of his color told me that the unsaid part was ' _and definately come by if I can help prevent a casualty'_

I slowly stand from the padded chair, the pleather squeaking slightly from being stuck to my thighs, "Thank you again, Sensei." I say as he nods slightly and I exit the room. Slowly walking back down the hallways towards the teacher's lounge where Chizue, Rin, and fucking All Might awaited me.

* * *

 **Midoriya**

Iida and Uraraka were at different train stops, and I was the first to leave. Left alone to my own thoughts for the first time today. I was in UA. I wasn't expelled on the first day. I managed to use one for all without completely breaking myself. I made _friends._ I... _I saw Meiko again._ I didn't recognize her in the video. I knew those black wings reminded me of something but I didn't place it until I stepped outside and I saw her. She wasn't dead. She was _okay._ And _in my class._ I had so many questions. So many things I wanted to talk to her about. So many things I wanted to tell her. She was - _is-_ my best friend.

I mentioned her to All Might once and he mentioned trying to look for her, but he never really mentioned anything after that. _Maybe he is involved in getting the three of them into UA? Why wouldn't he tell me? Did he want it to be a surprise? Or maybe he didn't know and he was just as surprised as I was?_

I needed to talk to her. I wanted to before I left, but tensions were so high. Nobody seemed to know what to think of Meiko and her two friends. All we saw was them being chased by pro heros. Nobody knew what they did to get chased, though. Of course, we also saw them save that kid. _Meiko_ save that kid. She wasn't even conscious after the hit. She just collapsed onto the pavement in a pile of her own blood.

Thinking of that now, _knowing_ that it's Meiko...it's _awful._ That explosion looked _bad_ and there was so much _blood._ I mean, it was mixed in with that weird black ooze, but there was still a lot of blood. That, and she _passed out._

Lost in my thoughts, and mutterings (most likely), I barely even realized I had walked all the way home until I was standing in the doorway pushing open the door to see my Mom's over-excited face, "Hello Izuku! How was your first day?!"

I smile at her as I take off my shoes and hang my jacket and backpack on the hooks. _Where do I even start?_ "It was amazing, Mom. I got to meet so many people with interesting quirks, and I think I even made a few new friends!"

"Oh Izuku dear, that's so wonderful! Go get changed while I finish up making dinner and you can tell me all about them!"

"Oh Mom? There's one more thing I should probably tell you before I go get changed so you have a few minutes to process it..." The words left my mouth before I had a chance to realize how bad they sounded. She looked at me with worried eyes and I felt guilty, holding my hands up, "It's nothing bad! It-It's just..." I stared at her from the entryway. Her worried eyes locked onto mine and her fingers clutching the apron around her waist, "Meiko...Meiko is in my class, Mom."

Her fingers went as slack as her jaw as her mouth dropped open. "You mean..."

"Yeah." I started and I could feel the tears in my eyes all over again, "She's okay Mom. I hugged her. I-I-" The vision of her got blurry as the tears spilled down my face, "I think I'll get my best friend back."

I closed my eyes and wiped my tears with the back of my hand, but then I felt the warm, familiar arms around me, "Izuku..." It sounded like she was crying too, "I'm so _happy_."

"Me too."

* * *

It was barely fifteen minutes after dinner was finished, and I was sitting at the desk in my room, looking over the tear stained paper that had brought me such comfort over the past few years. Meiko's last words to me. I was reading through it one last time, remembering all the times when I was ready to give up but I knew I couldn't because she said I was _her_ hero. I had just gotten to her signature at the end when I got a text from All Might, asking me to meet him at Dagoba beach. He didn't say what for, but I wasn't about to deny him anything.

I hop out of the desk chair, returning Meiko's letter back to it's safe spot in between her page and Kacchan's in _Quirk Analysis for the Future #1_ and returning the old notebook to the bookcase. With a quick goodbye and the explanation of training, I head out onto the streets once again. It wasn't dark out yet, but it would be in a few hours. _I wonder why All Might wants to meet so late?_

It was only about a ten minute walk to the beach where I spent five months of hell-training to be ready for One for All. When I get to the staircase down to the sand I almost lost my balance and fell down them for how quickly my feet stopped in their tracks. He wasn't alone. Chizue and Rin were full contact sparring in the sand. I could hear the impacts of their punches and kicks. All Might -in his true form no less- was standing just a few feet away -closer to the water, commenting on their form; giving tips on how to block without injuring themselves as badly. In between the sparring twins and myself, laying on her back with her bare toes shoved into the sand, was Meiko.

Why were they all here? What was going on? Why was All Might in his weakened form? Did they know about him? Did they know about one for all? Why did he call me out here to meet them? Is this some sort of intervention or something else? What could-

I didn't even realize I was walking again (or muttering) until All might looked past the twins towards me with a smile, "Midoriya, my boy! Glad you could come!"

"A-All-" I bite my own jaw to stop my words, "H-hi sir! It's good to see you!" I glance around to see the twins looking at me with amused smirks, All Might struggling to hold in a laugh, and Meiko, who, I am now basically standing right beside, is sitting up, smiling in my direction.

All Might takes pity on me, "Midoriya, don't worry. They know who I am. They know my secrets." He pauses, sighing slightly, "All of 'em" He chuckles, "I actually asked you to meet us out here because I thought you and Meiko deserved some time alone to catch up. You see, I did find her not long after you mentioned her. That's how I got roped into Aizawa's project. He is in charge of it, but I get to keep an eye on them when he is busy...and since I live alone in a three bedroom penthouse, they are staying with me as well." He walks over to me, clapping his large right hand on my left shoulder, "By the way, you impressed me today on that quirk test. I am proud of you m'boy." I could feel the tears sting my eyes, but I tried to reign them in. _Control the waterworks._ He gives me a bright smile and shakes my shoulder. "Now go talk to your best friend." And then he walks back over to the twins.

I look down and to my left and I see Meiko sitting in the sand with her arms wrapped around her knees. She is wearing those large silver wristbands that pump quirk suppressors into the bloodstream, even though I could have _sworn_ those were no longer approved for use. Her eyes are still covered in that blindfold from earlier. _Was she really blind? She didn't seem blind in school earlier? Maybe her quirk allows her to see somehow?_

As I walk over to her I can see her biting the inside of her lips and picking at the skin around her fingernails. I can't see her eyes, but I know her well enough to know she is nervous. Hell, I am nervous too. I try not to think about anything else except that this is _Meiko._ My best friend since I was five years old. I should _never_ be nervous around her.

I sit down in the sand beside her, close enough that my left shoulder brushes her right. She doesn't really move or say anything, so I start, "Hey Mei. I missed you."

I heard a choking sound that was most likely a sob before she dives into me. Her right arm wrapping around my back and her face burying into my chest. I don't even hesitate to put my arms around her just like I always used to. When we were kids there were always moments, certain days when she would just sort of shut-down. When she would wait til we were all alone, and then she would just cry. Not just crying like a kid would -even when we were kids. She would cry like she had just lost a loved one. Like she had so much sorrow inside her that the only way to survive was to bury her face into my chest and cry. I knew better than to ask. I knew that if she wanted to tell me she would. She never did though. I just held her, and rubbed her back, and her arms, and her hair, and tried to do all the things she did for me whenever I cried about a nightmare, or Kacchan, or bullies, or any other stupid thing. We haven't seen each other in years, but we still fell right back into that safe space we had. I tried really hard not to cry along with her.

Several moments later, after her tears stop, I hear her voice. It is quiet, and almost scared, but still, "Zuku, I have some things I need to tell you, and I am terrified of how you will react, but I _need_ you to know."

She sounds so scared. Her voice is shaking, and I have never heard it like that before. I run my left hand through her hair, "Mei, you have been my best friend since we were five. You are like the sister I never had. No matter what you say, that won't change."

She stays quiet for a few beats, but I feel her deep inhales that mean she is about to talk, but can't. After several tries, she finally speaks actual words, "I-I was reincarnated into this body...I lived a life before this one and I remember all of it. My life. My death. My friends. My family. Everything."

My breath hitches, _That makes so much sense. Even when we were kids, she never really acted like one. She was always so mature. She-_

"Izuku, stop muttering, I am not done yet." She interrupts with an amused exhale. She pulls away from me, returning to the sitting position beside me, but still facing forward toward the water. I try to keep my mind blank as I wait for her to continue. I can analyze later. "The thing is...in that past life, I lived in an alternate reality much different than this one..." She takes a deep breath, "In that reality, this one was a world that existed in a manga series." _Wait, does that mean...?_ "Not just this world...but _you._ " She gives a dark laugh and sighs, "Izuku, I knew who you were and what you would become long before I ever met you. In my old life, you were a character in one of my favorite animes, so when I saw you in this one...for _real._ I _had_ to know you."

My mouth worked quicker than my brain, "Wait, so, you died and woke up inside an anime? Isn't that a fanfiction trope?"

She whipped her head towards me before breaking into laughter, "That's what I fucking said!"

My curiosity kicked into overdrive at that point, "So, what was it like?"

Her blindfold moved, and I guessed she was raising an eyebrow, "What was _what_ like?"

"All of it!" I exclaimed, waving my hands as I talked, "Your world. The manga series. Waking up _inside_ said manga series."

She laughs, and covers her face with her hands, "I should have guessed that you would be excited like this, but I was so scared you would hate me when you realized why I befriended you that day."

"Are you kidding? No! I completely understand, I would have done the same thing, or wanted to at least, I probably would have been too scared...wait... you didn't answer my questions."

She laughs again, shrugging, "You are right. Okay, so, I'll answer any questions that don't pertain to events in the future. My world was basic. Like the pre-quirk world. Not very interesting. The Manga series was about you." She takes a moment to smile at me, "the last line of the first episode was your voice saying, 'And this is the story of how I became the world's greatest hero'" _I'm going to be the world's greatest hero someday?_ "-and as for waking up here? Wasn't so weird until I realized exactly where I was, which was the first time I saw All Might on TV. Of course, I had an existential crisis about timelines and fanfictions and quirks, and everything you could imagine. I didn't even know if I was in the right timeframe until I saw you at school." For a moment she pauses with a sigh, interrupting my mind searching for my next question, "That's not even the weirdest part of this whole thing, 'Zuku."

"What could be weirder than dying and being reincarnated into an anime you liked?"

She chuckles, albeit a little darkly, "Being reincarnated into a fanfiction _you_ thought up about the anime you liked." My brain short circuited for a second, but between the time my mouth opened and words actually started to form, she continued, "Chizue...Rin...Me... _Meiko_ that is _..._ we weren't characters in canon. We are characters that I dreamed up for a fanfiction I never got around to actually writing."

"Y-you wrote fanfiction?"

Her mouth opens and she makes an exasperated noise, "All that, and _that_ is your question?" She laughs, "What's the big deal, _you_ write fanfiction, Izuku. I've read it."

I feel my cheeks heat up with a blush, "B-but, you've always been so much cooler than me!" I pause for a second, "It makes me feel a little better knowing that you are just as huge of a nerd as I am, you just happened to be an adult inside of a kid's body...Everything makes so much more sense now!"

She smirks, "Like what?"

"Like, that time in third grade when we were learning to do multiplication with lines, and you got so mad you told the teacher she was an idiot, and the method was stupid, and you got sent to the principal for it. A-and how I never saw you learning English like you taught yourself sign language, but when we had sleepovers, you would sleep-talk in perfect English. I never understood it until we started learning it in the fourth grade, but you were already fluent. And all those little mistakes in World History must have been because of minor differences in the timelines...and that time in sixth when the science teacher said that protons were the smallest division of matter and you went on a rant about particle physics that nobody understood and got sent to the principal again. And-"

She claps a hand on my shoulder, "Alright, alright, I get it. I was bad at pretending to be normal." She has a playfully grumpy look on her face and I can't help but laugh, but then, the logical part of my brain finally seems to catch up to the situation.

"If...if this is a story you created, why didn't you stop what happened to your dad? Didn't you know what was coming?" Her breath hitches and her body jolts, and I instantly regret asking. I didn't mean to hurt her, I- "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's okay." She turns back to face me. "I didn't realize who I was until that night. I...I never planned the details of the story. Just little bits of ideas here and there. I never gave the characters names. I didn't realize I was anything more than an average character until that day..."

"Mei...can you tell me what happened?"

She nods, "You know how in movies, when people get desperate for something, a demon will show up and offer them a deal for their soul?" I nod, "That's sort of what happened. I guess Uncle Ryu told you about the accident in the forest?" I nod again, "There wasn't a monk with a healing quirk or anything like that. A demon showed up, and made a deal with my dad. She got to inhabit his body, and she saved my life. That's when I knew exactly who I was, and what was going to happen." She whimpers a bit, like she wants to cry, but can't. "I knew she was going to take over his body and kill people, but I didn't know when...I thought I had time to think it over. Time to figure out how to stop it...I didn't know it was going to happen _that night._ " She clenches her fists and brings them up to her eyes, "I was too late. Those people died because I hesitated. My dad died because I hesitated. Their lives are on me."

I reach out and pull her back into my chest. Her hands open up and rest on my ribs as she nuzzles her face into my collarbone, "No, Mei. They aren't. You didn't know when, and you probably wouldn't have had anyway to stop it. It's not on you. Their lives are on the demon not you. Not-"

She grips my shirt and gives that dark, watery chuckle again, "Then they are still on me, because she is a part of me now." I take a deep breath and I know she feels it, "My dad was killed, and I lost my eyes. That happened just like it was supposed to. I knew I had to finish it. After she was released from my dad, I took her into my own body. I knew what she wanted, so we have a much better deal. I couldn't let her go to someone who actually wanted to kill people, and I knew I couldn't survive what was coming to me without her power."

"So, she's in your body now? That's your quirk? Does...does she..." I keep rubbing her back gently, but I can feel myself shaking.

"No. She follows my orders. She protects me. She just wants to _feel._ How she was before...and how she was with my dad...it was very _hollow_ , the only things she could feel were very primal. The only time she could feel _anything_ was when hurting others. I don't condone...or forgive...but I _understand_...I guess. She is tapped into my feelings now. She feels what I feel. She gets to experience what it is like to be human, which is what she wanted. We have problems, of course. We are two minds in one body, that tends to be a problem, but we have an understanding."

"So, she is like a voice in your head, and she augments your body for strength and speed and defense...and she allows you to see?"

"Yeah. I don't see like you do though. I see like she does. Everything is dark. I can really only see edges of things, and I see people's emotions. And I can't see right now, of course." She shakes her wrists.

"The quirk suppressors affect her?"

"Sort of. It's more like they affect my understanding of her. I can still feel she is there, but I can't hear her. Sometimes I can still sense the emotions of other as if I am using her eyes, even though I can't see. It's like, she is trapped behind glass somewhere in my head. She is still watching and feeling, but she can't help me or talk to me."

"I see." I know that once I get home, I have quite a bit of new quirk analysis to record, but I try not to think about it right now. This isn't about that. This is about reconnecting with my best friend. "So...was there a lot of fanfiction about this world? About me?"

She giggles, "You have no idea."

I hesitate for a moment, "Was it...dirty?"

I feel her shake against my chest, "Some. Not all. It was really varied, you know? You know how fandoms are."

My hands still against her back as I shudder, "They ship me with Kacchan don't they?"

She bursts out into laughter, "At least you are self aware."

I shove her out of my arms as she continues to cackle, "It's not funny! I-I can't! Not- Kacchan- no!" I feel the heat in my face as I wave my hands around, trying _not_ to think about Kacchan like _that._

She is still giggling, "You know fangirls. You're a precious cinnamon roll and Bakugou is a grade A Tsundere. You two have history...They go nuts for that shit."

"He bullied me!" I glare at her, even though she can't see it, "For _years!"_

She smirks and she bites her bottom lip, and even after all this time, I know her face when she is about to say something extremely embarrassing, "You know, some would call that prime grounds for some good hatefucking."

I can't contain it. I screech. It's not even words, just unintelligible noises as her laughter intensifies. Even through my panic she continues, "You know, if you decide to have some big gay crush on Kacchan, I'll support you right? I'm a multishipper, and I don't kinkshame and I-"

"S-stop. Mei _please."_ I wheeze "If I have a b-big g-gay crush-h on someone it will _not_ be on K-Kacchan!"

She smirks devilishly and grabs my hand, "But you have a big gay crush on _someone?"_ She squeals under her breath, "Zuku, did you just accidently come out to me?" I thought my face couldn't get redder. I was wrong. I was immensely happy she couldn't see me, but then I felt guilty for being _happy_ my best friend was blind. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, just embarrass you a little! I'm sorry." Her face falls, but she crawls a little closer so our faces are close, her hand moves a little in mine to entwince our fingers, "You know you have been like my brother for years now, so I am going to support you no matter what. You can like girls or boys, or neither, or both or aliens, or _whatever._ I will still love you!"

"A-Aliens?" I question, and she smiles a bit.

"Yeah. Xenophilia. It's a thing."

I take a deep breath and grip her hand tighter. "Both...I think. I'm not exactly sure since I haven't actually, you know dated _anyone._ B-but I have had both girls a-and b-boys that I've found attractive..."

She smirks again, "Just not Kacchan?"

I playfully shove her shoulder again, "It-it's not that he's not _attractive._ I'm not _blind._ " I look up at her raised brow and it hits me, "I'm s-so s-sorry! I didn't mean it like that I-"

She laughs, "'Zuku, it's _fine._ Please continue."

She gives me a reassuring tilt of her head and squeezes my fingers, "I just...I can't like him like _that._ We've been through too much. There's too much history there. I mean...I still wish we could be friends, or at least have a _normal_ conversation, but I just don't..."

She leans into my shoulder, and I let go of her hand to wrap my arm around her, "I get it. You don't have to explain it." She looks straight ahead, and for the first time since we started talking I noticed the fact that Chizue and Rin are still going strong several feet in front of us. All Might is sitting in the sand, watching them. He notices me looking at him and gives me a smile. Of course I return it.

I look back to Meiko, resting her head on my shoulder and decide to get some revenge, "So, exactly how much dirty fanfiction have you read about me?"

She shudders and I laugh, "Izuku you are like my brother now. I can handle talking about your crushes or your sexlife or whatever, but _please_ don't make me remember all the things I have read about you."

I giggle, "So I take it the answer is _a lot._ "

"'Zuku..."

"So I take it Kacchan isn't my only ship then? How many others?"

"Two other big ones. But I mean, you get shipped with everyone." She shudders, "I have seen some things I can't unsee."

I smile, "And who do _you_ ship me with?"

She turns her head towards me, "With whoever you want. I just want you to be happy."

"Oh come on! That's a cop out! Who was your OTP, Meiko?"

"I didn't really have one. I said I was a multishipper, in this fandom at least. All the ships had different things I liked about them." She smirks, "I know you don't like it, but Bakudeku had the _best_ AU stories."

I shrug, "I get it I guess. Especially if you change our history."

"Wait, what I don't get, is I tell you I come from a world where you are a fictional character, and you are asking about your _ships?_ "

"Well, I know you can't tell me about the future or anything like that, so I don't really know what else I can actually ask about without fracturing the timeline or something. And fanfiction is interesting! It's crazy to think that there is an entire world where people like me enough to write _fanfiction_ about me. Oh! Was there merch?"

"So much. You were on my cellphone case, Izuku. You and All Might, right there on the back of my phone. I was a grown ass, _professional_ woman, and you were _still_ on my phone case. I had posters, and keychains and I even had a set of adorable little plushies of you and Bakugou."

"Such an Otaku."

"Shut the fuck up, hero fanboy!" She slaps my chest and I laugh.

There is a long comfortable silence. Just the sounds of our breathing and the sounds of the twins sparring further up the beach. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." She whispers.

Today was a good day.

* * *

NOTES::

-didn't even have to shoot his AK.


	9. The Little Things

Ever since I realized exactly where I was...and who I was...it has been a constant struggle between trying to help, but trying not to fuck things up. It was googling for information about Tenko Shimura before quickly realizing that nothing I could do or say would change anything. I didn't have enough information... It was sending anonymous tips to the police and the Hero Public Safety Commission suggesting they look into Endeavor's home life. I sent one from a different IP address every few months for years, and nothing ever came of it. I spent my second 'childhood' trying and failing to make life better for the kids I knew were suffering. I couldn't save Shigaraki from All for One. I couldn't save Todoroki or his siblings from Endeavor. I couldn't save Midoriya from the near constant taunts and sneers and _stares_ from other children.

I have been constantly worrying. And planning. And lying. And feeling _guilty_ for everything I couldn't change. Talking to Nezu...telling Izuku the truth and having him accept me. And hold me. And laugh with me; like nothing had changed. For the first time since waking up in this world, I felt like I had an unfiltered conversation between someone else and _myself._ Not the person I was trying to be, nor the intensely awkward person I was in my past life, but the person I was _now._ The product of all my circumstances and memories. I was saying what I felt, and what I feared and someone was listening. I couldn't see him, but I could hear the soft, awkward cadence of his voice. I could feel the warmth radiating off his body and the feel of his calloused hand in mine. It was like a reset button. I knew a storm was coming. A whole metric fuckton of drama and stress. But no amount of worrying could change it. I knew this fandom like the back of my hand. All the stressing in the world wouldn't make me any more prepared for it than I already was. I had absolutely _no fucking clue_ how the presence of the twins and myself and fucking _Shinso_ in class 1 A and the _lack_ of the others would play out. I sat there with my toes buried in the sand, listening to the sounds around me. Izuku's soft breathing. All Might's supportive suggestions to the twins. Chizue's slightly louder than necessary responses, and Rin's expressive exhales of air. In that moment, I squeezed Izuku's hand and felt him squeeze back and I decided: I was going to make the best of this life. I was going to try to lean on others for my stress, and let myself enjoy the little things.

* * *

This brings us to what I have since dubbed: 'A Weekend with Dadmight'.

After the sun had set and it started to get chilly, Izuku went back home and the rest of us piled awkwardly back into All Might's pickup truck. Chizue crawled into the little folding seat in the back so she could stretch out her casted ankle, and I was in between Rin and All Might on the bench. It should be noted that it was much more comfortable _this time_ considering on the way _from_ UA, he had to assume his muscle form in case we were watched and it had made this bench a little _snug._ Several minutes after I felt the truck rumble to life and begin to move, I heard the deep inhale to my right followed by the hesitant voice of Toshinori, "So, young Meiko...I just wanted to let you know that I couldn't help but overhear the first part of your conversation with Midoriya...I was...curious...I apologize for invading your privacy...I-"

I cut him off before he falls too far down this rabbit hole, "It's fine. I don't mind you knowing the truth about the _how_ of my knowledge. The twins know, and have for a while. I told Izuku of my own free will. I told Principal Nezu because I needed advice...I trust you. I don't mind you knowing. If you hadn't listened in, I probably would have told you once we made it back to your place." I sigh, "I should probably tell Aizawa too, but I don't exactly know when or how..."

He lets out a chuckle that quickly morphs into a cough. "I'll have to call him tonight once we get back home and I lock us inside. If you'd like, I can _try_ to explain it to him."

Chizue, presumably reading our lips via the rearview mirror chimes in, "Lock us in?"

I felt shuffling on both sides, I figured Toshinori was trying to show he acknowledged her, and Rin was probably getting ready to hear the response. "We are only allowed to remove your quirk suppressants on school grounds...but... I was able to negotiate with the higher ups that so long as I lock my home from the inside and keep the key on my person where you could not possibly access it without my permission, I am allowed to turn down the dose on Meiko's cuffs."

I turn my head in his direction, wishing I could see him. Chizue beats me to speaking, "So that she can see?"

"That's the idea yes...if my home is to be your new home, then ideally, I want you all to be as comfortable as possible...I...don't want you to be blinded if you don't have to be. I wish I could have pushed for the complete removal for all three of you but I-"

Chizue, again "No, it's fine. Rin and I understand. They have every reason not to trust us, and honestly, it really sucks when Meiko and Rin can't communicate, so this is great...Thank you, All Might."

"Toshinori, please."

"Thank you." I mutter, not really knowing what to say. I had spent my past year or so in Tartarus in total darkness. I had assumed that would continue for a while. The thought that it wouldn't because of his kindness...I felt like crying.

* * *

About an hour later had me, with slightly blurred, but functioning vision, bumbling around Toshinori's kitchen while he, Chizue, and Rin sat on tall stools at the island. He explained that because of his injury, he couldn't really eat anything except fluids, however, that didn't stop friends and anonymous donors from constantly sending him groceries.

"I usually donate them, but considering I have already locked the door and delivery isn't really an option, it's a good thing I didn't get to it yet this week." He sighs as I glance through the various boxes of dry ingredients in boxes on the kitchen countertops. "Many of them know that I have a fondness for American food, so I apologize for the strange mix of supplies...I don't even know why they send me ingredients... I think it is common knowledge that I can't cook..."

I find myself laughing as I pick up a jar of tabasco sauce right next to a box of dried penne pasta. "No, this is actually good. I have never been great at cooking Japanese food. But stuff like this...this I can work with."

In the end, I end up skillet-frying some chicken breasts. Which turns out to be much harder to do when you can't actually see the colors of things. Luckily, Chizue was happy to describe things to me as best she could, and Rin was standing buy with a meat thermometer. I also ended up brewing some fresh sweet tea for myself, and because I felt bad that we were cooking in Toshinori's kitchen and he was physically unable to have any of it. He said he was happy just being able to smell it, but I _knew._

I sit the cup of iced sweet tea in front of him and he looks up at me in almost awe after he takes a small sip, "It tastes like..." He hums

"The south?" I laugh.

He smiles at me, and my inner fangirl swoons, "I spent most of my time in America in New York and California, but I visited New Orleans a few times." He looks at the cup before taking another drink, "I was never able to make it taste right even when I followed the instructions."

"That's the problem." I answer as I turn back to the stove top, helping the twins remove the chicken from the heat, "Never follow the instructions on tea boxes if you want it the way southerners like it... If it says two tea bags, use three, and double the amount of sugar. Or I guess in this case, your easily processable sugar substitute I found in the cabinet."

Behind me, I hear him make a noise almost like a spittake, "This is my sweetener?"

"Yes?" I turn back around, "Should I not have used it?"

He shakes his head quickly before covering up a cough with a napkin, "No, that's good. Thank you. It means I don't have to watch how much I drink. I was just surprised that I couldn't even tell."

I exhale deeply. _Mini heartattack avoided._ "Good. I was worried. I put the jug in the fridge. Have as much as you want. It's super easy to make."

He gives a soft smile and the three of us rejoin him sitting around the island. We make small talk about UA and our classmates' quirks as we eat, and everything feels...warm.

He was supportive when we asked to all sleep in the same room rather than the three separate bedrooms. It was primarily for the twins. They couldn't sleep apart because they never had, and Chizue was at a disadvantage in the event of an emergency. I stayed because they felt safer in numbers and I didn't mind being with them in the slightest if it made them happier.

The next morning I woke up to English curses and the smell of bacon. Not the weird almost jerky that the Japanese call bacon, but _real...greasy...bacon._ I am not proud of how quickly I dragged the others out of bed, but I _needed_ it. I can't help but smile at the familiar smell as we exit the bedroom just as the bacon pops and Toshinori mutters another English "Shit!" as he recoils back. I laugh at the sheer irony in the number one hero being taken down by bacon grease. He glances back to look at us leaving the bedroom and gives a smirk, "Breakfast is the only thing I have ever been able to make. Hope you like bacon and eggs. Speaking of which, how do you like yours?"

Chizue and Rin exchange a glance before shrugging, "Scrambled for us, I guess? That's the only way our mother ever made them." He nods and then raises a brow at me,

"Oh!" I start, "Fried over medium, I guess? Preferably in the bacon grease if you don't mind." He stares at me for a moment like I just revealed a secret.

"I've never thought to do that...it's genius." He hums as he goes back to cooking and the three of us slide into the stools at the island. Rin sticks a hand out to grab my attention before she signs,

"Is this what a dad is like?"

I smile at the lanky back of our resident awkward parental figure and nod, signing back, "Yeah. He's awkward, but he is trying."

Chizue frowns, signing "I don't know how to feel about it. It's not like he adopted us, he is just watching us...why is he being so...parental?"

I shrug, meanwhile Toshinori cracks another egg into the pan, "From what I know about him, he always feels responsible for people he couldn't save. He probably sees us in that way. Especially the two of you. He probably wants to try to give you a normal home life since you never had one." They both turn to stare at his back as he moves around in front of the stove, and I sort of wish that my vision was completely back so I could get a sense of how they are feeling.

He removes everything from heat, preparing our plates and placing them in front of us and pouring four glasses of the tea from last night before he grabs the stool and sits across from us. "I talked to Aizawa last night. I tried to explain your...uh...situation to him, and he seemed to understand, but it's hard to tell with him..." He sighs, "I also mentioned to him that I thought you three should have cell phones so you can contact your classmates as well as us if you need us for anything." He bites his lower lip and looks away for a moment before turning back, "He agreed, but the only way the higher ups would agree is if there were locks on the numbers you could contact."

Chizue giggles, bacon slice still held between her fingers, "It's not like we really know anyone other than you guys and our classmates. We didn't really have _friends_ in the villain world, and if we _did_ we sure as shit don't have their phone numbers..." She sighs, "But I am deaf, so I can't even use a phone, so it doesn't matter to me."

Toshinori tilted his head with a soft smile, "I actually talked to Present Mic about that. He said that there are specialized phones for the deaf, blind and mute. We can find you each one that works for you."

"Wait, is Present Mic _actually_ deaf?" I exclaimed, nearly choking on a bite of bacon.

Chizue narrows her eyes at me for a moment, "Yeah? I mean not completely? We talked about it..." Her jaw drops, "Oh wait, that's when you were talking to Nezu. You missed that whole thing." He laughs and Rin rolls her eyes.

"Was he not in the uh...comics?" Toshinori asks hesitantly.

"Well, we didn't really know. It was never said, but it was a pretty popular headcanon." I see his blank stare, "That's an idea or theory that _could_ be real, like there isn't usually any proof otherwise, but gets used so often that it almost might as well be real." I scoff, "Headcanon confirmed I guess."

* * *

The rest of the Saturday consisted of a grand, uninteresting adventure to the phone store. Out of the house, I had to continue to be blind, so that was fun...We walked, so of course on the way there and back we encountered a few villains that All Might couldn't resist, so the three of us ended up standing nearby awkwardly as he did his hero work and talked to fans and reporters. After each little encounter he would have to escape, wait a few minutes, and wander back in his true form to grab us. I couldn't help but wonder if this was my life now. I wondered what Izuku was up to.

The four of us spent the weekend chatting and watching movies. We taught him some sign language and he gave us tips on our combat skills and hypothetical quirk usage. The fact that the most normal series of days I had experienced in literal years was spent with fucking _Dad Might_ was surreal. By Sunday night, even Rin was lightly smiling as Toshinori told stories about his days as a young hero.

* * *

Surprising even me, the four of us ended up dressed and at UA fifteen minutes before homeroom was supposed to start. Of course, we were supposed to get there an hour early to allow for the quirk suppressors to fade, but considering the fact that Toshinori didn't think about the fact that he had one shower and four people and didn't set his alarm any earlier than he would have if he was still on his own, I think we managed pretty well.

We had our UA uniforms. Rin and Chizue wore theirs with leggings to cover up their scars, but I chose the tall socks, frankly because I was just so ecstatic that my calves were normally sized in this life and the tall socks I loved _finally_ looked good on me.

Another unforeseen side effect of this situation was that I had gone from low dose quirk suppressants (in the home), to very high dose (in transit), to no dose (in school) in the span of about thirty minutes and it was really fucking with my -well- everything. Illidari's presence was coming in waves like she was speaking another language through a fan. My balance was screwy. And I felt like I could projectile vomit at any given moment. I wasn't looking forward to this being an every morning occurrence. I had experienced quite a few medication side effects in my time, but this was the worst.

Especially when Chizue, fully believing I was able to see, let me go as we opened the door to 1A, and a wave of vertigo hit as I stepped over the barrier. I vaguely registered some pain, but mostly it was the cold of the tile on my face and the roaring laughter of Chizue and Bakugou. I groaned as I pushed myself up, and my vision decided to come back as I looked up to see Izuku looking at me. As I looked up to his eyes, I could see his face contort as he started giggling. I scowled at him, "Oh come on. Not you too..."

He manages to control his giggles long enough to grab my forearms and lift me to my feet, but as soon as he does, another wave hits and my vision blanks, but thankfully his hands were gripping my arms gently but firmly as he supported practically all my weight. _Damn, I forgot he got strong._ "Sorry Mei...I thought the rule was we were allowed to laugh as long as no-one was seriously hurt...but...are you...? I thought you just tripped, but then you got all wobbly again, are you okay? Did you hit your head? Do we need to go to Recovery Girl?"

I shake my head, scared to open my mouth for fear of actual, medically induced vomit. Thankfully, Chizue answers, "I think she is fine? The quirk suppressors do some strange things to your body when you are coming on or off of them, and she has gone through such a range of dosages in a short time, I think it may have fucked up her system a bit." I nod, biting my inner lip as the nausea intensifies before fading and rotating my hands so that I can grip Izuku's biceps for support and... _Damn._

My vision still refuses to return though, and Illidari is little more than an annoying buzzing sound, but that's when a realization occurs, "How many people just saw me faceplant in the front of the classroom?"

Izuku chuckles nervously, "Uh, ten? Including Chizue, Rin and myself." I grip his arms and he stutters, "I-if it helps, they mostly look concerned! The only one who laughed was Kacchan, and that's cause he's well- Kacchan."

"-The fuck you just say, nerd?!" I hear the crackling noises and the sound of a desk moving, followed by a stern voice taking control, Iida, muttering about quirk usage and profanity in the classroom. I wasn't really listening because that's when I felt the heat of someone leaning in between Izuku and myself, Chizue, from the smell of her, as she whispers just loud enough for the two of us (no small feat for her)

"Don't worry, your boyfriend wasn't one of the ten." She taunts, and Izuku promptly makes an utterly embarrassing (even second-hand) squeal followed by a sputtered whisper,

"B-boyfriend!? Why didn't you tell me you liked someone? Who is it? Is it someone you liked before?"

"Shut. Up." I manage to growl out. I can feel my face heating. I did _not_ want to talk to fucking _Izuku_ about my unhealthy obsession with a person I have spoken to literally _once._

"Oh come on!" Chizue continues, and I feel Rin crawl into this awkward circle, throwing an arm around my shoulders and squeezing herself in between me and Chizue, "Tell him about how the cool and collected Meiko turned into some blubbering, blushing _fangirl_ after _one_ conversation!"

I was about to threaten her with bodily harm when an unknown presence and scent popped up very suddenly on the _other_ side of Izuku and myself, causing a frankly unflattering english gasp of 'Jesus fucking Christ.' Of course, he was undeterred by my alarm and inserted himself into the conversation anyway.

"Oh? We talking about Meiko's _blatant_ crush on Tokoyami?" Shinso was one of my favorite characters, but right now, I wanted to set him on fire. Izuku let out a muffled squeal just as my vision came back and Illidari muttered something about embarrassment feeling somehow worse than physical pain. Izuku was directly across from me, our arms still grasping each other for dear life. To my right was Rin and Chizue huddled in close, and I couldn't help but think that that was the closest I have seen Chizue get to anyone other than us without being on edge. To my left was Shinso, leaning in to the other side of the strange little circle like he deserved to be there.

"I will _end...all of you._ " I threaten, and they start to giggle, but my eyes catch the movement of Tokoyami and Shouji entering the classroom. Their eyes fell on our huddle in front of the teachers desk and they look wary for just a moment before heading to their seats. My color vision starts to come back and I glance away from my friends and around the room, finally noticing that everyone is trying hard not to stare at us, but they are all varying levels of concerned and worried.

Shinso was apparently the first to pick up on what I just realized because he barks a laugh and leans back to his regular height, and speaks at a normal volume, "Holy shit, the three villains and the two kids who mysteriously know them already are huddled up, whispering in hushed tones. We look like we are plotting something _nefarious._ "

Izuku _squawks_ looking around the room at everyone as he drops my arms and the circle breaks, "N-No, don't think that! It's nothing bad we were just teasing Meiko about her cr-"

To my utter shock, it was Rin's hand that was suddenly clamped over Izuku's mouth, cutting off his frantic explanation. He stares at her and she merely raises a brow. Izuku inhales through his nose loudly, his eyes widening; apparently _just_ realizing that we were whispering for a reason. Thank God for Rin.

She drops her hand and Izuku continues, "B-but really! We were just _talking_ n-not _plotting!_ I promise! T-they aren't _bad!_ They aren't really villains! I think they were just...misunderstood." Izuku stammers out with a surprising amount of poise.

Iida clears his throat and pushes his glasses up with one finger, "Midoriya is right. We should give our classmates the benefit of the doubt! Regardless of their background, Aizawa-sensei vouched for them. Midoriya performed quite _heroically_ at the entrance exam and Shinso was admitted on recommendations, and the way I see it, those three opinions should be enough to convince us not to believe the worst."

"Well said Iida." A monotone voice drawls from the doorway, and _hell_ I didn't even see Aizawa come in. I didn't realize how much time had passed or even notice that the rest of the class, with the exception of us five at the front of the room and Iida, who was standing beside his desk, were seated and ready for class as they were watching the drama unfold. Aizawa sighs. "I should have expected something like this... My vague assurances aren't enough to alleviate your worries, and frankly, they shouldn't be." He glances around, "Midoriya. Shinso. Iida. Sit down. You three, stay here." He gestures to the open space between the door and his desk and we oblige. Rin and Chizue both with a hand on my upper arms, ready to steady me if I lose balance again. He moves so that he is leaning against his desk, standing beside us, glancing over, "Are you three okay with a Q & A?"

I nod and Chizue snorts, "Sure. I'm an open book. If they ask something I'm not comfortable answering I'll say so, but do my best." She shrugs, "I get that they are afraid of us. If I were them, I would be too, so, I'll do my best."

He hums, "Do I have your permission to disclose personal records and information I see fit with the students in this class?"

"Yes." Chizue and I answer in unison, and Rin signs an affirmative, knowing that legally, he needs more than a nod.

"Good. Let me know if I get anything wrong." He starts before pausing to take a deep breath. "Let's start with Meiko... I know more of her story" I can't see him, but I get the distinct feeling he just rolled his class is watching him in quiet attention. "Meiko Ryuniko. Her mother died in childbirth. She was raised by her father. It has come to my attention since meeting her that there are supernatural entities beyond our understanding that exist in this world, and sometimes, they bind to humans and can act as quirks. Meiko's father, Kyo Ryuniko was quirkless, until he received this type of union quirk. A quirk with sentience that he couldn't control. You might know him better by the villain name 'Demon Arms'. He committed a very heavily televised massacre that killed nine people and injured six others." He pauses for a moment, the flashes of recognition and fear and sadness flickering through the room. "He wasn't even aware of his actions. His daughter knew this and tried to stop him, and ended up caught in the crossfire that killed her father and cost her her eyes. She was then labelled an accomplice and sent to a legacy home... For those who don't know, these are small _orphanages-"_ he says the word with so much disgust that I almost want to smile."- meant for the orphaned children of villains. They tend to act as unregulated prisons because the children of villains are almost always assumed to be destined for villainy themselves."

A hand shoots up, Yaoyorozu, "They are imprisoned before they commit any crimes? How is that legal?"

Aizawa scoffs, "They aren't regulated as prisons. They are private institutions loosely funded by the Hero Commission. Minors under their care are legally _theirs._ Their policies or practices aren't denoted by any regulations. Basically, they do whatever they want. You don't even want to know the kind of atrocities I have come across in those places since I started this project." He sighs, glancing to the clock on the wall, "Anyways...that brings us to Chizue and Rin Gingero."

There is a collective gasp, and I feel their hands tighten on my arms. Aizawa continues. "Yes. _That_ Gingero. Their father was Makerov Gingero, villain name: Ginger Snaps. Famous for being able to permanently destroy a quirk with the snap of his fingers. He was also well known for his part in human trafficking and illegal quirk testing. After the raid on his base, his twin daughters were taken to the same Legacy home as Meiko. The three of them escaped from the home and were _officially_ dubbed villains. It should be noted that since then, that legacy home has been investigated and shut down for violations of the Geneva Convention." Chizue scoffs, and Aizawa ignores her and continues, "After their escape, they lived on the streets and acted as vigilantes. The locals all praised them for their kindness. They looked the other way when they shoplifted food, because they acted as heros in a part of town that rarely saw any pro heroes. They saved people, even though every time they showed their faces, they were at risk of going to prison. That's why I recruited them."

There is a long pause where nobody says anything until Tsuyu raises her hand, after an acknowledgement from Aizawa she speaks, looking not at him, but at _us._ "So, your only crimes were being born to the wrong person... Being a victim of circumstance...escaping from a prison that most likely did horrible things to you...and saving people without a license...?"

We apparently take too long to answer, because Aizawa answers, "That's the gist of it, yeah."

Suddenly, Chizue steps out, "Don't mislead them. My hands aren't clean. I am not a fucking hero. I have done terrible things I can never undo. Blood on my hands that will never come _off._ " Her voice shakes as she raises her voice. Looking at Aizawa.

He doesn't back down, he stares right back, "Were any of those things your decision, or were you forced into it?"

"That doesn't matter. It was my hands...my _actions..._ " Her voice waivers, but she doesn't break.

He sighs, looking at the class, "I challenge any of you to find a hero who doesn't feel like their hands are filthy, be it from villains they were forced to kill or people they couldn't save. What sets heroes apart from the villains is how they _feel_ about it. _Remorse_ is the mark of someone who is _good._ " He looks to Chizue, "I can't even imagine what living with _him_ was like, but if he forced you to hurt people, you can't blame yourself. The guilt you feel over the things you were _forced_ to do proves that you aren't like him." I see her bite her lip, and I can see the waves of guilt flowing through her, but also a little bit of hope as she nods at him.

He looks back across the class, "Feel free to ask any of us questions." When nobody says anything, Chizue laughs.

"Seriously guys. If you are worried or curious about something, it's better to ask us now while we are prepared for it than catch us off guard later, or if you continue to look at me like I'm my fucking _father._ "

After a moment, Kirishima hesitantly raises his hand and then speaks, "Uh...you said why Meiko was blind, but what about you two? Were you born deaf and mute or was it..." He drifts off, obviously not wanting to say something insensitive.

Chizue smiles reassuringly at him. "My father kidnapped my mother to get her quirk. Her quirk allowed her to use a quirk that was explained to her, as long as the owner told her what to do. Not very hero worthy on its own, but when combined with my father's power to absorb quirks in his fingers...he ended up with me. I touch someone and I can disable, strengthen, or use someone else's quirk. Which is what he wanted. What he didn't want was the side effect of my mother's quirk that was that I had to follow verbal commands of the quirk holder. He realized he could fix this problem when I was about twelve and he poured acid in my ears." She shrugs. And glances back at Rin, who gives her a nod. "Rin's story is similar. Someone wanted to shut her up, so they damaged her vocal cords permanently."

A hand, Jirou, "You said _someone._ Was it not your dad?" Chizue gulps, looking to Rin and Rin signs, I translate,

"Our mother" She pauses, and I wait for her to continue, _I didn't even know it wasn't their dad._ "When you live like we lived, you realize everyone has a breaking point. I just happened to be the one who finally pushed her over the line." Rin gives a mournful smile and Jirou nods. I can't help but notice the harsh intake of breath from Todoroki.

A hand. Kaminari, looking at me. "If you are blind, how can you see what she is signing?" Everyone glances around, presumably wondering how _they_ didn't notice.

I smirk. "When my dad died, I took his quirk. Most of you probably figured that out from the quirk test. It allows me to see. Sort of. I don't see the way that you do. Everything is black and white. I see outlines of things. I can see people by their souls, those are the only things that hold _color._ It's hard to explain, but if it helps it make sense, Hagakure looks exactly the same to me as the rest of you. Except Tokoyami, because he and Dark Shadow each have their own soul, and I see both of them." Everyone is a little confused, but nobody asks anything further.

A hand, Ashido. "How do you know Midoriya and Shinso?"

Midoriya smiles at me, and I glance to Bakugou who rolls his eyes, "I went to school with Midoriya and Bakugou up until the uh...incident. Midoriya has been my best friend since we were five."

Chizue answers after me, "And I met Purple Man one time while we were on the run, like, two years ago. I shoplifted and he tried to catch me. I broke his nose and he broke my ankle. We talked for a bit, and I ran. We hadn't seen each other again until last Friday."

Aizawa clears his throat, "Alright. It seems like everyone is a lot more comfortable with each other now, so you can continue this on your own time. Homeroom is almost over. I trust you all understand your schedules?" Silence. "Good. Regular classes until lunch. Hero courses after." He glances at the clock. "You have ten minutes until English. Do what you want, just try not to make too much noise." He brushes past the three of us and pulls his yellow sleeping bag out from under the desk. "You three, go sit down."

The open seats are Aoyama's: in the front near the door and in front of Mina. Kouda's: behind Kirishima and in front of Shinso, and Mineta's: in between Midoriya and Yaoyorozu. Rin moves first, taking Aoyama's spot, probably assuming that Chizue would want to be near Shinsou and I would want to be near Izuku. Of course, that also puts Tokoyami right beside me. _Oh fuck me._

As I sit there, listening to Izuku talk about God knows what. I glance across Tokoyami's silent reading of a novel to see Chizue talking to Kirishima, who is spun all the way around and smiling at her like the fucking ball of sunshine he is. Up near the front, I see Mina holding a conversation with Rin, and I decide that they are both fine. They are included. It's...nice. I tune back into Midoriya's rambling and laugh at the obviously irritated Bakugou and I am _excited._ Yeah, there is a shitshow that is going to happen. But there is also a lot of fun. And I fully intend to let myself enjoy this as much as I can.

* * *

~~NOTES~~~

This chapter wasn't exactly planned. I didn't _intend_ to write like, 2000 words of Dadmight, or have this weird throwback to like, the _first_ iteration of this story that existed in my head. It just sort of happened. I didn't want to skip over the small things to get to the things we love. Yeah, the team battles will be great, but we can't just rush into it. We gotta savor it. The little character interactions are what I live for. I hope you like it!

I also can't believe that in this position I could just sit by and do nothing for Todoroki. Of course, it didn't work. But I would still _try._ Same for Shigaraki. I mean, I have huge soft spots for the villains, and that is probably going to become an issue in this fic.

(Also if you are confused about seating, just google the 1A seating chart. Meiko replaces Mineta. Rin replaces Aoyama. Chizue replaces Koda and Shinso replaces Sado. Speaking of the missing characters, there is a very good chance that some of them will end up in 1B replacing 1B characters I don't particularly like. Let me know what you think!)

I have started writing the next chapter too! Be proud, I'm proud (of myself...yeah...sue me.)

Love ya'll!

~Jumb


	10. Problems of Being a Fangirl

NOTES:: Hey! I'm alive! Sorry ya'll. Some chapters come really easily and I can write thousands of words in a day. Other times, you get stuck somewhere and don't know how to proceed. This was one of those chapters. See, I have big plans. Big elaborate scenes I am excited to write and have thought of in great detail. But getting from Important scene 1 to important scene 2 takes bridges. Things you didn't think of. Conversations you never planned. Chapters that just sort of...happen. This is one of those chapters. Sorry it took so long. Hope you like it! Hopefully the next one comes easier!

Love, -Jumb

* * *

English rolled around and I swooned. Aizawa and All Might I had met in a high stakes and high stress environment, I didn't really allow myself to fangirl. I couldn't. But now, motherfucking _Present Mic_ Is in front of me. Literally radiating energy (like seriously, his aura is so fucking bright). The twins already met him, but I missed my chance. I have always had a personal interest in Present Mic. He is strong. He is smart. He is funny. But all people see him as is the comic relief. Like, fuck you, his quirk can level cities. Show a little respect. But alas, the only people that seem to understand the beauty of Hizashi Yamada are the erasermic shippers. Goddamn, I feel physical _pain_ needing to see those two interact in person so I can see if that piece of headcanon is as legit as deafmic. Maybe I could sneak into the teachers lounge or-

"Listener Meiko!" At my name, my attention snaps back to reality. I barely even registered that it was english until he continued, "I am sure most teachers won't be able to tell if you aren't paying attention, but I can." He continues in English. Before tacking on, in Japanese, "I know it's the first day, and you may not think English is important, but please pay attention!" _Shit. Fuck. Goddamn._ He sounded so fucking _sad_ my heart broke, and I took a leap.

"Present Mic sir. It's not that I don't respect English." I start. In English, and it feels so strange but so _natural_ to finally use it again. Rin and Chizue were fluent, but we usually used Japanese unless we needed to be sneaky. This was rare. "It's that through some strange circumstances that I can't explain to you in this setting, that English is actually my first language. So I apologize, I was just...bored." I look around and notice everyone except the twins and Izuku staring at me with confused faces. Sure some of them have a basic knowledge of English vocabulary, but they probably couldn't follow as fast as I was speaking. And I am sure it was very strange to hear it sounding _natural_ and not accented. Mic smirks and looks over his sunglasses,

"That's wonderful listener! I look forward to hearing more about this later!" I laugh to myself and he goes back to teaching. I try my best to pay attention if only for the sole purpose of not wanting to be the cause of that cute ass _pout._ Ugh. I was too fucking thirsty for this school.

At least Ectoplasm wasn't hot. I mean, I still didn't pay attention, but it was math. I didn't need to. Math is the same in both universes, and that made me very happy.

The last class before lunch was literature with Cementoss. I actually had to try to listen. I liked reading, but literature was such a subjective thing that I always had a hard time with it. The classes would switch up tomorrow though. Tuesday/Thursday classes would include Art history with Midnight, Science with Power Loader, and World History with Snipe. I wasn't looking forward to most of those. Science was cool, but usually ended up angering me when it was over simplified, (much like the math). History was hard when there are all these little changes in history from my old life, and it's hard to keep them separate. I couldn't even begin to wonder how I was going to deal with Art History when I could no longer even see color. I was in the same mindset as most of the class, I couldn't wait until lunch, and subsequently, Hero Training.

Lunch hour rolled around and the twins and I joined Izuku, Iida and Uraraka in heading to the lunch room. Iida, in true Iida fashion, introduced himself, apologized for his rudeness, and welcomed us to class all in one breath. Uraraka turned out to be just as bright and peppy as I thought she would be as she officially introduced herself to the three of us.

As we stood in the lunchline, the dekusquad chatted about their highschools and their favorite heros, so I took the chance to look around the lunch room. I immediately noticed Koda, Sato, and Aoyama, and noticing them in the general vicinity of the person I presumed to be Monoma, I guessed that they were in class B. I was glad they still got to come to UA. I liked them alot. I assumed Mineta had realized that there were better ways to get laid than trying to become a hero somewhere between middle school and here. I was actually a little disappointed. A part of me wanted to see what would happen when he inevitably pissed off Chizue or Rin...

I looked behind me in line to see the both of them looking around the large cafeteria in casual wonder. I noticed Shinso standing behind them, lazily looking at his phone and seeming way too exhausted to be here. He didn't glance up until Chizue spoke, "It's so _weird._ Everyone is dressed the same. The cafeteria _still_ looks like the cafeteria. There are obviously little cliques scattered about...but nobody is trying to shank anybody."

I took one look at the seriousness of Chizue and the absolute shock on Shinso's face and burst out laughing. I mean, it makes sense, the only cafeteria they experienced was in the hell home. This was considerably tamer. I picked up a bundle of utensils and they followed my example. Rin looking at the little bundle of plastic and metal and smirking before signing, "Oh look, they are even giving us sharp objects and trusting we won't stab anyone."

I didn't even notice the Bakusquad pre-Bakugo behind Shinso until Sero leans in, "Uh, were cafeteria shankings a common thing where you are from?"

Shockingly, Chizue just smirks at him, "I mean, casual bare-knuckle beatings were the usual, but there was the occasional stabbing. When it was just the two of us, we were always the targets, so we tried to lay as low as possible, but then Meiko showed up and put the fear of God into those assholes, and then the beatings were more distributed...and more creative. It was almost fun watching people beat the shit out of each other and occasionally take out a kidney with a broken cafeteria chair. Can't say I miss it though..."

"Holy shit, it's like you lived in a prison movie!" Kaminari half-yells and I'm internally _begging_ him not to make a 'dropping the soap' joke because they have never explicitly mentioned it, but I got the impression that their daily torture from the other kids wasn't entirely non-sexual. Chizue ever so slightly tenses, and just as I am about to change the subject, Shinso beats me to it,

"So what exactly did Meiko do to scare an entire prison?" He directs it at Chizue, but he glances to me just long enough to tell me that he _knew._ I'll have to thank him later.

Rin lets out a huff of air I know to be a chuckle, and Chizue returns to smiling, "She used the rumors to her advantage. It was right after everyone saw the footage, and everyone started talking about her like she was some sort of villain prodigy. They were already sort of in awe, but then when she arrived and promptly beat the everloving _shit_ out of the guys who liked to torture me and Rin and announced herself as a Shinigami, she became like, the fucking boogieman to all those cunts. Nobody ever bothered the three of us anymore."

A warm, thick body presses up against my neck as Izuku thrusts his head over my right shoulder. "Meiko was always great at threatening bullies. Once she told a guy in middle school that if he ever touched me again that the only pieces of him the police would find wouldn't even fill a milk carton. Most of the time she never even had to throw a punch...just the way she talked was enough to scare them. I can't even imagine how effective her scary voice is now that she has the whole, Demon Arms quirk thing going on."

Then Rin is signing, "They have separate voices, and when they speak together, it's pretty creepy. I think that's what scared them so much that day."

Chizue translates, before tacking on, "That's why they looked so scared. I didn't realize." She looks at me, "Illidari has her own voice?"

I nod, and can fucking _feel_ Izuku vibrating with excitement over quirk talk as he leans even more against my shoulder. "When she wants to. She can either use my vocal cords, or she can produce her own disembodied voice if she needs to. Even when she uses my body to actually _speak_ it still sounds like her though." _Speaking of which, she has been oddly quiet lately...Like, the past few days lately..._ **I'm an observer. I am observing. You are already exceptionally frantic, my questioning of you would only make your mind even less inhospitable.** I huff, _oh Gee whiz, thanks._ Then, suddenly, I felt like I had asthma and had run a mile, and realized why when I heard her voice, not from my own mouth, but radiating from around me.

" **Hello, humans, my name is Illidari, I'm a Tengu demon inhabiting Meiko. Since you were curious about me, I thought I'd introduce myself."** Of course, the small group around me was in varying stages of shock and awe, Rin was signing to Chizue, and several other people around had noticed the creepy, smooth, inflected cadence of Illidari's voice and turned to look at us.

Even though Izuku was one of the few who knew the truth about her. What she was really like, he smiled even through the twinge of fear, "H-hi Illidari, I'm Izuku Midoriya, it's nice to meet you!"

Unfortunately for me, she was draining my energy to speak, but she wasn't using my body, so I had no way to fucking shut her up. " **Oh, aren't you a sweet little soul? You are afraid, because you know I feed on the pain and suffering of humans, but you are trying to keep an open mind because I am a part of Meiko, right?"** She pauses and emits a haunting hum, and I can feel the tension in fear in my newfound friends. I clench my fists tight, _Stop fucking scaring my friends, you fucking shitstain._ " **You shouldn't be afraid. None of you should. I feel what Meiko feels. Since she adores you, you could say I am...** _ **fond.**_ **But even if that isn't enough to convince you of my intentions, I can't do anything except speak without her body, and I cannot use her body without her express consent. I can't harm anyone she does not wish to harm, and she does not wish to harm anyone here."** She laughs, and even though the sound is echoed and unnerving, my classmates seem to have relaxed a bit. " **I would have told you that even** _ **if**_ **she wasn't trying to force me into submission by digging her nails into her palms."** Then, I hear her in my head, as well as with my ears, and her tone changes, it almost seems...sad. " **I didn't mean to frighten your friends, I can't help what I am. I can't change what I have done. Hiding my nature from them won't help anyone, but if they know what I am, but also know how my intentions have changed, then** _ **perhaps**_ **we can move forward with a relationship built on trust instead of manipulation and powerplays."** I open my mouth to speak, but I know I don't need to. She is in my head. She knows what I think, what I feel. This was the first time her voice sounded sincere. Almost human. The first time she didn't sound antagonistic, or like she was playing a game. _What the hell changed?_

I feel a familiar warmth on my hands, and realize I had tuned out of reality for a moment. Izuku was wrapping an extra napkin around my left hand, and Chizue was wrapping my right. They must have unclenched my fists for me. I didn't even realize they were bleeding, but I could see the faint color of my own aura on the napkins. "Thank you. Sorry about that."

A bright grin from Izuku, "It's fine. I think we needed that, you know? You can tell us about her...about your quirk, but we can't really understand it until we see it for ourselves...And I don't think she was as bad as any of us were expecting."

I glance around at everyone. Iida and Uraraka were nodding energetically. Shinso gave a shrug. Ashido, Kaminari, and Kirishima did a mixture of the two, and Sero laughs, before following with, "Yeah, honestly, I was expecting something more along the lines of the Exorcist."

Then, the fun begins. We continue through the line, grabbing our trays and food, and I continue to follow the conversation just behind me. None of them know how to be quiet. Kaminari especially. God, I love that guy. "Now I am a little disappointed that she didn't pop up and yell 'Your mother sucks cocks in hell!'"

Kirishima is actually a literal ball of sunshine, "Was I the only one not expecting like...the devil?"

Ashido at least tried to whisper. Sort of, "Kirishima. Illidari killed like, nine people. I mean, yeah, she's like, chill now, but she's not gonna be fuckin' Casper the friendly demon."

I see Kirishima throw his arms up in my peripheral vision as I grab a couple drinks, "I dunno man, I mean, in my head she was more like Big Boo. Sorta evil, but also kinda cute?"

A snort from Shinso, "Like from the Goddamn Mario Brothers?"

"Yeah, I try to see the best in people, especially people I don't know yet!" _God he's fuckin' cute. I can't..._

Chizue taps my shoulder as we grab entrees. Signing, "You good?"

I sign back to her and Rin, "Yeah, they are just...it's perfect. I think my heart is gonna explode."

Rin narrows her eyes for a moment, signing, "So the red-head...is he actually that...nice?"

I nod, our place moving into the payment section as I reply, resting my tray on the bar to use both my hands, "Yeah. He genuinely is. He's pretty insecure about himself, but sees the best in everyone."

Chizue snorts, "Is there anyone in this fucking world you don't have a crush on?"

I smirk, "Not really. I love everyone. Well. Mostly. You'll know the ones I don't like."

We finally reach the end of the line. The cashier nodding at the three of us and waving us off. We follow Izuku, Iida and Uraraka to a fairly central empty table, and after a second of hesitation, Shinso follows us. I wondered if he was debating it with sitting alone or sitting with the bakusquad. Probably alone, trying to hold onto that whole, cool aloof persona.

Down one side of the table was Izuku, myself, then Chizue and Rin. The other side was Uraraka, IIda and Shinso. Further down the table I noticed Todoroki eating soba by himself, and the bakusquad minus Bakugo was a few tables over. The first several minutes were filled with the lot of us quietly stuffing our faces with rice and noodles. Followed by the squawky sputtering of Izuku when Lunch Rush walks by and asks us how the food is, mentioning that white rice is the perfect comfort food. _I'm partial to chicken and dumplings, but...culture shift._

As we approached the last half of the lunch hour, the food was dwindling and small talk began to retake the group. This time it seemed that Uraraka and IIda were trying to bring the three of us into the conversation more, probably still feeling guilty about this morning. Uraraka smiles so brightly her eyes neary close as she looks between the three of us and briefly to Shinso as she asks, "So, we were talking in the line about our favorite heroes and stuff, but we never got to hear yours! So, who are your favorites?"

Without hesitation, Shinso speaks as Rin signs, "Eraserhead." Rin gives a half smile and gestures to Shinso to show that he said what she said.

"Oh wow!" Uraraka smiles, "It must be crazy having him as your homeroom teacher then, right?"

Shinso shrugs, but before Rin can actually sign or write out a response, Chizue busts in, "Nah nah nah, you can't just pick the hero that hauled our asses out of tartarus. That's cheating. If everyone had personally been saved by a hero, that's who they'd pick, but most people can't do that. You have to pick superficially."

Izuku looks distraught, "Does that mean I can't say All Might?"

I laugh, "He has been your favorite since you could comprehend what a hero was. Him saving you isn't why he's your favorite. Just a happy coincidence. You get an out."

He claps his right hand to his chest and exhales dramatically like a great weight has been lifted. Uraraka brings the conversation back on track, looking at Chizue, "So then who is your superficial favorite?"

Chizue scrunches her nose for a minute before finally answering, "Hawks. He is strong. Funny. Super cool, and has that devil-may-care attitude that makes him feel so much different than most of the self-righteous heroes out there."

Iida hums with a hand on his chin, "If your criteria for 'favorite' is not being like other heroes, then shouldn't the number two hero, Endeavor be your favorite?"

Unluckily, Chizue was sipping her tea at that moment, and sputtered as she choked slightly and then tried to catch her breath. Rin was watching with a raised brow like she was excited to hear what she would say, and I was suddenly very curious and very scared of what was about to come out of her mouth. "No no no, you misunderstand. Hawks saves people and doesn't care about the media or the recognition. _Endeavor_ wants people to acknowledge and respect his strength and power at any cost, and saving people is just the fucking _byproduct._ " She clears her throat a little too loudly, and takes another sip of tea, "As far as I'm concerned, he's not a _hero_ at all."

A tense silence settles in, and my first reaction is to look down the table past all the empty seats and see if Todoroki _heard_ any of that. He isn't looking this way, he is pointedly looking at his tray, his face is carefully neutral, but his breathing is heavy, and his color is anything but calm and neutral. It's a swirling storm of hate and pain and anger. He heard.

As I turn back to the group I see that Izuku and Iida have followed my gaze. Izuku is internally panicking and Iida pushes his glasses up on his face and swallows hard, looking back to Chizue, speaking at a lower volume -one that Chizue has no way of noticing- "Don't you think that is a little harsh? He has defeated many villains, and saved many lives..."

Chizue has a concerned glare on her face for a moment, before she, too, glances down the table and seems to put two and two together. She shakes her head, "Look, I don't see winning fights as any measure of being a hero. I see being a hero is someone who meets a victim on the worst day of their lives and makes it a little brighter. Endeavor was the first hero Rin and I ever met, and I can tell you, _he didn't do that._ In actuality, he took what little hope and respect I had for heroes and set it on _fire._ " She sighs, dragging her hands down her face. Rin grasps her shoulder and squeezes in support. "Maybe it was a bad day. Maybe he is truly a wonderful person and hero, but has any victim ever genuinely said that Endeavor made them feel comfortable? Or safe?" She shakes her head, "I am not saying his fans are wrong or that it's wrong to look up to him. He is strong. He fights villains. I _get it._ " She glances back down the table and Todoroki has subtly angled his head this way. "You can look up to whoever you want. I know what I've seen and I know how I feel, but just because I hate him, doesn't mean anyone who looks up to him is in the wrong by default. And if I judged someone _just_ by who their father was, I would be a giant fucking hypocrite."

For several seconds, we all just glance around at each other. Izuku looks at me silently questioning. He knew I had always hated Endeavor. I am sure he was wondering if this was the reason. Then movement from my left drags my attention, and Rin has her elbows propped up on the table, holding up her board with a smirk. It reads, "In other news, I really dig Gang Orca."

I can't help it. I cackle. The look on her face and the words she wrote. The situation. All of it. It broke me. And my laughs broke the tenseness, because then we all joined in. Chizue. Izuku. Iida and Uraraka. Even a slight chuckle from Shinso.

I was shocked that Rin, the one who literally couldn't speak was the one to break the awkward moment and make everyone laugh. There were a few minutes of truly small talk discussing the pros and cons of an Orca wearing a suit before the bell rang and everyone moved to return their trays. I risked one more glance at Todoroki and saw that his raging storm of emotions had somewhat lessened. I wasn't sure if it was Chizue's rant in particular or just the thought of Endeavor in general that upset him so much, but I knew I couldn't do anything. It wasn't my job to drag him out of his personal hell. That was Izuku. God I hope the twins and I hadn't fucked that up.

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NOTES::

Your comments, kudos, reviews, follows, etc. Give me life. You don't know how much they make me happy and inspire me to write more. Thank you guys! Hope you like this chapter, let me know!


	11. IDK, Battles n' Stuff

NOTES::: Guys! I posted this really quickly after the last one for 3 reasons: 1) the last one seemed like a weird place to leave things if it _did_ take me a little bit to get through my next arc. 2) This one is really short, and I don't want to wait a while and then be disappointed in a 3000 word chapter (I don't like writing them that short, but I didn't know what else to do.) and 3) *Bar Rescue Narrator Voice* "It's time to pull back the doors, bust open the books, and make a call for help! 

* * *

Fashion designer I was not. As such, when Aizawa dropped our outfit request forms off at Tartarus, I blatantly ripped off World of Warcraft just as I had for almost the entirety of Illidari's creation. Which, for those of you that don't know, meant black clothing with glowing green swirling accents. I kept my arms, legs, and most of my torso equipped with only a fine mesh, so that my ooze could be released without being limited by fabric, increasing my efficiency while still having my demonic aesthetic. In addition, my simple blindfold was replaced with a partial facemask, covering my eyes and giving me horns, because I'm so fucking extra and if I was plagarizing, I was going all in.

Chizue and Rin on the other hand had never told me how they designed their hero costumes. The first time I saw them was in the locker room at UA as we prepared for the team battles. (I should also note before proceeding that All Might in his hero form was even more imposing and intimidating than I thought it was going to be. The volume. The size. The _brightness._ )

Carrying on, the funniest part of Chizue's and Rin's hero costumes is that they couldn't have been more different. Chizue's quirk can't really be augmented by any support items, she is primarily a martial artist, but she needs to have exposed skin to absorb quirk information. This ended up translating to an outfit that _really_ reminded me of Videl from Dragon Ball Z. Black Bike shorts under a short, sleeveless dress... functional boots and fingerless (and palmless) leather gloves...pigtails to cover her ears. The only real difference was that the dress wasn't plain white. It was layered and flowing and... _bohemian._ It was like Stevie Nicks if Stevie Nicks had a utility belt of throwing knives, sais, and emergency medical supplies.

Rin on the other hand _did_ have a quirk that could be enhanced with the right outfit. You see, Rin's threads can either be an extension of herself or completely separate entities. The amount of threads she can stay mentally connected to at any given moment is one of her most limiting downsides. However, the threads can be severed from her mind and act simply as indestructible, invisible ropes. The thing with ropes though, is they need to be _tied_ to something. Normally she can embed one end of the thread in, say, a wall, and only have control of the one end and lighten her load, but ideally, her spiderwebs should be completely independent. This brings us to her outfit, which looks like she bought it from an early 2000's Hot Topic, because it is completely black but _covered_ in D-rings. The base is just a simple black jumpsuit, skintight on her lean body and fully covering her skin up to a mask piece that covers her nose and mouth. All over the suit in varying sizes are the D-rings. Not close enough or positioned so that they make any noise when she moves, but plentiful. Enough rings so that she could tie off hundreds of strings and feel their vibrations with her physical skin rather than her mind. It looked edgy as hell, but it was truly clever, especially since she is made for stealth and reconnaissance.

Aside from that, I wasn't sure whether I was happy or disappointed that the rest of class 1-A looked exactly as I expected them to. Even Shinso had a tracksuit reminiscent of Aizawa's and his signature capture scarf. He also had the voice changer around his neck already. In this alternate reality, he was prepared.

The whole thing felt like some strange Dejavu. As we walked into the battleground, I caught the tail end of the conversation between Izuku and Uraraka about her costume being skin tight, but rather than Mineta's skeevy comment I look to my left and see Rin glancing between Kirishima and Yaororozu before signing an eerily familiar "I love this school". All Might's awkward teaching was the same. Iida's interruptions were the same. Tsuyu's concerns about the advanced nature of the exercise were the same.

With every passing minute that nauseous feeling in my stomach grew as I watched things happen verbatim around me. I watched the battle between Iida and Bakugo vs. Izuku and Uraraka from the control room with the rest of the class. We didn't have access to the sound, but I knew exactly what they were saying and when, and I knew it was the same because Chizue was reading their lips and signing to Rin and I throughout the battle. All the existing battles went _exactly_ as they were meant to. It looked like the four of us being here just replaced the original four with us. Originally, Kaminari and Jirou went up against Yaoyorozu and Mineta. This time, Momo had Shinso. Of course, Momo just sealed the room with insulated steel plates, so there wasn't really a question of who would win, but Shinso had to prove himself as well, so he ended up miming Jiro's voice with a simple "Kaminari?" when the two were a reasonable distance apart, and it was over then. With one zap, Kaminari was over his voltage limit and dumb, and Jirou was out cold.

When the last match rolled around and it was myself and Rin as villains and Chizue and Mina as heroes. I wasn't really surprised, and I wasn't worried either. After all, I was with _Rin._

* * *

 **All Might**

I managed to set aside my worry for young Midoriya and the pain of holding this form through all of the mock battles. There was just one left. I had just given Rin and Meiko their earsets and building layout plans and they had entered the building. As I walked over to Chizue and Ashido, Chizue was simply glaring at me. I brushed it off and handed them their own maps of the building, but as I turned to call to the other students to head with me back to the observation room, I- and Mina's questions of tactics- were interrupted, "Wait, wait wait, All Might, hold up!"

I, and the rest of the students looked back to Chizue as she jogged up to us. Mina right at her side, looking exceptionally confused, "We are supposed to treat this as a real threat right? What we would do in this actual situation."

"That is correct, young Chizue! Fight as if you were a real hero!" I state loudly, hands on my hips in my signature pose.

She sighs deeply with a frown, "See, that's the thing. If this were a _real_ situation, I wouldn't even _try_ to go in and fight. I would use these five minutes of planning and the fifteen minutes of the exercise to evacuate the targeted area and try to save as many lives as possible."

My smile faltered for a second, "Heroes can never give up! You should have more confidence in your abilities as well as the abilities of your partner." I glance to Ashido.

Chizue's jaw drops as she looks to Ashido and then back to me, "No, you misunderstand. It's not that I don't have confidence in my abilities. I am _very_ good at what I do. And I watched Ashido in the quirk test, she is very talented. I don't doubt her either. It's not that _we_ can't win, it's that in this situation, _nobody_ could."

There are some quiet mumblings from the other students as they close in to better hear the conversation. "Explain." I prod.

"You all probably underestimate my sister because she didn't do well in the quirk test. But you don't understand how _terrifying_ her quirk really is." She pauses for a second, "Have you ever seen a spider make a web on the inside of a pipe, or other small space?" I nod, and beside me, other students nod as well. "You gave my sister a five minute head start in a small inclosed space. _On defense..._ with a _time limit._ By now every hallway is a dense spiderweb of her threads. Except, all those silks aren't fragile like a spider's. They are completely invisible. They are indestructible. If she wants them to be, they are razor sharp and can slice your skin right off just by coming into contact with them. She can control them completely. She can tighten them around you, wrap them all around your body and you won't even _feel them_ until she wants you to. Until she traps you in a cocoon as hard as steel. You throw in the fact that Meiko can make you see _whatever she wants_ and this isn't doable by anyone. If we were the villains, we would have a chance. Meiko might have had a chance against Rin since she can see the threads, but it's still unlikely. All she has to do is _trap_ us and hold out for fifteen minutes. This is what she was _made_ for. The way I see it, being a hero isn't about winning fights, it's about saving lives, and I _know_ I can't win this fight, so I should focus on being a _hero._ "

I listen to her speak so clearly with such conviction. As much as I hate to admit it, she is right. I look to Ashido, "What do you think of this?"

She shrugs, "I agree. She knows her sister's quirk better than anyone here, if she says nobody can win, I believe her. I also agree that if there isn't a chance of succeeding, we should try to save who we can, not waste our time fighting a losing battle we never stood a chance in."

I nod and turn to the class, "She is correct. Even the best heroes can be outclassed. No matter how strong you are, there is always someone out there who will excel where you are weak. Knowing your weaknesses and knowing your enemy's strengths and being able to know and admit when you cannot win are important aspects of being a hero. Sometimes you have to know when to wait for help, or when to make the best of an unwinnable situation."

The class nodded in understanding, and there were several seconds of silence before it was broken by Kirishima, "Isn't it a little unfair that we let them go in and set up for an attack that isn't coming? I mean, she went through all the trouble of making those webs right? I kinda wanna see what happens."

Now that he mentions it, I am kind of curious too, "All right then! Does anyone want to volunteer for another round?" I half expect Bakugo to volunteer, but looking at him, he still seems a tad shell shocked from his previous battle.

"I'll go" calmly states Todoroki. It makes sense, he excelled in his last match with very little effort. He wants to test himself here too. I nod, and as he steps forward, I radio to Meiko and Rin's feed to let them know that they are now challenged by Todoroki, not Chizue and Mina. Meiko responds with a simple 'Aye' and once the rest of the class returns to the observation deck. I call the match to begin.

Everything happened shockingly fast. I expected Todoroki to freeze the entire building rapidly to try to keep Rin from pulling her threads, but it appears as though Rin and Meiko anticipated this, because the second Todoroki stepped into the building and ice began to spread, Endeavor appeared out of nowhere and threw a flaming fist at Todoroki. He jolted, stopped the ice and leapt backwards, but as soon as his feet left the ground, he never returned. He was suspended in the air, far enough from all surfaces that his ice couldn't propagate, and from the gritting of his teeth and tenseing of his muscles I knew he was bound in threads. The image of Endeavor disappeared as quickly as it came and as Meiko stalked down the hall and wrapped the tape around one of Todoroki's hands I heard her whisper 'Sorry'.

* * *

 **Meiko**

 _I can't believe I did that._ I unzip Rin's jumpsuit and she unzips mine. _That was so freaking_ low. _I wanted to win, so I took advantage of him. Of what I know. I manipulated his fears to win a fucking_ assignment. _I didn't even think about it. I didn't hesitate. I knew what would work best and used it. I didn't even stop to think about how it would make him feel. It wasn't fair. It was cruel._ **It could have been worse, you did what you needed to win the battle, wallowing in this guilt won't help you or him.** _But I- I'm a fucking_ monster. _I-_

A warm hand clasped my shoulder and I finally realized I had been standing in an unzipped suit staring at the lockers and doing _nothing._ I turn to see Chizue and Rin looking at me, confusion, concern, and worry floating off of them. "You good?"

I slap a smile on my face, "I'm fine, just overwhelmed."

Chizue narrows her eyes, and Rin cocks a brow and a mild glare, but they relent and nod. Continuing with the process of changing back into our school uniforms. **Why not tell them? Shouldn't you talk to someone about your concerns?** _I can't. I can't explain why I hate myself without telling Todoroki's story. I don't know how telling them about that could change what happens, I can't risk fucking anything up. Not now. I don't remember how long it was 'til the USJ but it isn't long, and I can't risk changing that. People could die, and it would be my fault._ **This worrying and guilt isn't good for you or for me. I don't know much, but I know humans shouldn't shoulder burdens like this alone.** _Yeah, well. I don't have a choice._ **We shall see.** _What the hell is that supposed to mean?_

But she didn't respond. She went suspiciously radio silent like she has been recently. It is beginning to worry me. She sees all of my memories. My thoughts. My feelings. Everything, but I can only hear what she chooses to say to me. I may be 'in control' but I don't feel like that sentiment is very accurate.

We joined the rest of the class in homeroom after that. We ran through the training results in greater detail, and after that there wasn't much to do except organize schoolwork for the next day and make sure the room was clean. Mostly, people were chatting to each other about the mock battles. Chizue and Rin included. Rin was being complimented left and right, and Chizue was complimenting others and letting them know little things they could practice to improve. They were mixing in _well._ It made me happy to see it.

When Izuku came back to class, it hurt to see him injured, but he faced it with a smile. Listening to the others praise him for his voracity. When he looked at me, I smile for him in earnest. He was happy. He deserved to be. His smile brightens before it falters as his eyes look past me and towards Bakugo's seat.

The twins and I stood next to Uraraka, Ashido, and Tsuyu in the window as they watched Izuku and Bakugo's argument. Chizue was lip reading Bakugo's half of the argument and signing it to us. Rin seemed very deep in thought, and I was just happy that the argument followed canon. When Uraraka gave her dramatic interpretation of 'friends turned enemies' they looked at us, Ashido realizing what we were doing, "Hey, you could tell what they were saying right? Bakugo at least, since he was facing us?"

"Yup." Chizue says with a smile.

Uraraka beams, "Are you going to tell us what they said?"

"Nope." Chizue replies. Still holding the smile. As the three girls beg and plead with Chizue and Rin I quietly make my escape back to the classroom which has mostly cleared out. I took a sideways seat at my desk and took a moment to breathe. Covering my face with my hands and trying hard not to break down. I couldn't even enjoy the fact that the day went well because of the heavy, thick fog weighing down my chest. _How could I do that? I knew better. I_ knew-

I didn't even realize someone was sitting on the desk until he spoke, "You know, they say all is fair in love and war." I remove my hands from my face and look to my left and see Tokoyomi perched on my desk, one left pulled up and his arms resting on it. He is so close, but he isn't looking at me. But there is nobody else around.

"I don't-" I start

"But you know, feeling remorse over something when you don't have to is a sign that you are a caring person. People who intend true malice don't regret their actions, and they certainly don't let it weigh on them."

 _What the fuck?_ "How do you-?"

He closes his eyes and lightly chuckles as he hops from the desk, "Until next time...Meiko."

 _How the fuck did he know what I was feeling? And what to say?_ I stare at his back as he exits the classroom. _What the hell is going on here?_

* * *

NOTES::: To further elaborate on this "call for help" I need to say a few things. 1) I am a socially awkward fuck, even online. 2) I have absolutely no confidence in my writing, I have no idea why any of you are here reading this stuff. That being said, I have never had someone I actually talk to read anything I have written. I have never had a beta. I have never had anyone to bounce ideas off of. I have never gotten feedback about anything before it was posted. Normally I just say, "Woe is me" and muddle through, figuring things out the best I can without anyone else helping, but for this story, I have so many layers and plans in my head that I don't even know what is good, what is bad, or what would even work together. I need _someone_ to talk to about the future of this story. Preferably who is caught up in the manga, or I might spill spoilers. (Well, this story will contain manga spoilers either way, so be warned) Of course, talking to me about it beforehand might kill the magic as a reader, and I get that. But I still want to ask, because if I have another mind, someone I _know_ already likes what I am doing. Someone I _know_ actually wants to read what I write and isn't bothered by me. Then writing this story would be so much easier. If you would like to volunteer as tribute and help me out, you can find me on twitter and tumblr as the same screenname as on here. And don't worry readers, If nobody offers a hand, I will still continue to write this story as best I can.

Love, Jumb


	12. Minutes to Midnight

NOTES:::

SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKAS!

* * *

Despite the concern from the twins as well as Toshinori, I managed to push my guilt down into the pit of my stomach where I was keeping everything else I had failed in this new life. This was the first thing I had _chosen_ to do that I regretted. Which meant it was nestled somewhere between my hesitation killing nine people, the fact that despite my emails, Todoroki and his siblings never got saved from Endeavor, and knowing that by the time I was old enough to do anything or even know where I was, it was already too late to save Tenko Shimura. He was five years older than Izuku. Than me. His quirk had already presented. His family was already dead. All For One had already found him. I was too late. The latter three are much heavier crimes, but I ultimately couldn't change them. This one? This one was my fault. Completely. Intentionally. And it _hurt,_ so I buried it. Deep down inside a bottle where I hope it never gets out. I was good at bottling things up, I had forty three cumulative years of experience with ignoring my problems until I die.

The fact that I bottled up my worries and chose to avoid thinking about the things that upset me didn't matter when the next morning rolled around. All Might didn't have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so he just dropped us off around the back of the school so we wouldn't be seen. But just moments after we stepped inside the back gate, the alarm went off and the security walls went up around the school. My entire body froze in my tracks. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I had spent the entire night psyching myself up to face this day with positivity, and ignore the impending doom until it got here. But it was _here._

"You okay?" Chizue asks, gently holding my hand.

"No...but I will be."

Rin gestures to the wall and signs, "This means something doesn't it?" I respond with only a nod, and without any more conversation, we head to homeroom. I focus on my steady breathing as Aizawa hops through the highlights of the mock battles with the class. From what I gathered, it was exactly the same critiques as canon. 'Bakugo, don't be a little bitch', 'Midoriya stop being a martyr' etc. And when the class rep election (as suggested by Iida of course) rolled around, I was torn. I was worried that things had changed, but honestly, since I couldn't see anyone _other_ than Iida being class rep, I voted for him. I couldn't _not._ I mean, come on. It's _Iida._

The totals ended up different though, even though the end result was basically the same. Midoriya came in at four (himself, Uraraka, Iida and Chizue, if the smirk when Bakugo flips out is any indication). Yaoyorozu at 3. (Herself, Todoroki, and Rin,) Everyone else had zeros and ones. It brought a smile to my face when Iida wasn't as distraught in canon. This time, someone voted for him.

After that, I muddled through the morning classes in a daze. I knew what was coming and the anticipation was _killing_ me. Rin and Chizue knew me well enough to not try to pull me out of it. They took notes and listened to other people's conversations between classes. When lunch rolled around, I flipped between Uraraka and Iida telling Izuku about all the battles he missed, and the Bakusquad asking Rin questions about her quirk, passively listening to both conversations as the line moved.

We all seem to be creatures of habit and sat in roughly the same lunch spot as yesterday. All except Todoroki who was nowhere to be found. Of course the creeping voice of my crippling anxiety mentioned that it was because he hated me, but I just pushed that voice down back into the pit of repressed feelings. I couldn't deal with that right now.

That heavy feeling only got worse once the conversation progressed to Iida talking to his family and I remembered that I would have to keep my mouth shut and _hope_ Tensei doesn't die if I wanted any hope of the timeline remaining on track, and I hated myself for it. Tenya looked so happy talking about his brother, and I had been following Ingenium through my years with Izuku and I knew that he didn't deserve his injuries, but I didn't know what I could do. I would have to think about that after the USJ though. I can't worry about Tensei when everyone else is in imminent danger in the next few days.

Before the conversation could turn again, the alarms went off. Level 3 security breach. Rin quickly signed to Chizue what was going on as Iida turned around and asked an upperclassmen at the next table what that meant. Then, all hell broke loose. I grabbed Rin and Chizue's hands tight, afraid of how they might react to the stampede. They were confused when we didn't immediately rush to the exit with the others, but they seemed to be content to follow my lead. I knew there would be no point in getting caught in that hysteria. We should just wait in the looser, slower moving section in the back of the evacuation route and wait for Emergency Exit Iida to make his appearance.

"Why are we just standing here?" Chizue prods, a little louder than usual to be heard over the crowd. I was surprised she had that good of a grasp on her volume.

"Just wait for it." I respond, and point down the hallway. Barely even forty five seconds later, Iida floats up above the mass of students and spins his way towards the exit sign. I can't help but laugh.

"Listen up! Everything is okay!" He yells over the crowd, steadying himself with the sprinkler pipe, "It's just the media outside, there is absolutely nothing to worry about! Everything is fine! We are UA students, we need to remain calm and prove that we are the best of the best!" As expected, just like a herd of sheep, with a little guidance everyone calmed down and things wrapped up quickly. The police came and ushered the media out of the school. All the students were calm and collected, but I was still covered in a cold sweat because I was the only one that _knew_ that Shigaraki and Kurogiri were here. They could still be here for all I know. I knew we weren't in danger _yet._ But I knew we would be, and we would be very soon.

We made it back to homeroom for the short class before Hero training. Chizue and Rin gripping my hands with a comforting tightness and concerned looks before separating to our own desks. I tried to focus on the people around me. Rin playing Tic-tac-toe on her white board with Mina. Chizue talking to Kirishima about _something._ Punching bags, I think? Izuku's quiet mutters as he writes in his notebook. Several other whispered conversations before Aizawa comes into the room and we finish the class rep business. Of course, Iida gets chosen for his rightful place as class rep, his happiness radiating off him in waves.

I sort of zoned out through the rest of the logistics of classroom organization, and was only dragged back into reality when Aizawa groggily told everyone to get into their gym uniforms and head outside. _This is interesting._ I mean, I knew there had to be more normal heroics course sessions, and the only ones we got to see in the anime were the classes that went wrong, but I had no idea what to expect and that was sort of exciting.

We got changed in the locker room, the girls happily chattering about what to expect from this class this time. Chizue and Rin looked at me, but I just shook my head. This time I didn't have any more of a clue than they did, and it was distracting me from the thoughts of our impending doom.

When we made it outside, Aizawa was standing in the same open field where we started the quirk assessment test, a clipboard in his hands. As we circled around him, we all waited for him to tell us what was going on. He inhales deeply as he looks up from his clipboard. "Last time we were out here, I tested your quirks. Today, we ignore them." A few shocked gasps and worried muttering before Aizawa raises his voice, "Today, we work on quirkless combat training."

"But why?" Kaminari asks, "We are heroes with our quirks, why should we train quirkless?"

Aizawa raises an incredulous eyebrow before sighing and rolling his eyes, "And what would you do if you were fighting _me?_ Or Chizue? Or _Ginger Snaps_? Or any other villain who can take away your quirk?" He tightens his lips into a line briefly before continuing, "If you rely only on your quirk, it means that without it, you are dead. This is why I am an effective hero. Villains rely on their quirks, and when they don't have them, they panic. They have no training on how to defend themselves without it. You have to be better than them. You have to be prepared in every situation."

The students all nod in understanding, as if they had never thought about it before, and it's the first time that I think I truly realized the depth of this quirk centric society. People _are_ their quirks. It's surreal to think about. Aizawa speaks again, "Who here has legitimate martial arts training?" I raise my hand. As do Chizue, Rin, Izuku, Ojirou, Todoroki, Kirishima, Shinso, Yaoyorozu, and Iida. Aizawa looks around at us, "Perfect. Half and half. Everyone who knows what they are doing, pair up with someone who doesn't and teach them what you can. I'll be walking around and critiquing all of you. Full contact sparring, but don't hit each other with the intent to harm. This is training. Act like it."

Luckily enough, martial arts has always been very centering for me. It's something I can focus on, because focus and a clear mind is important, so even though I had a thousand worries on my mind, I was able to stay focused on helping Hagakure position her arms and legs in a way nobody has been able to help her before. She wasn't bad, she was good at imitation the positioning of other people, but it can't make up for someone observing you and correcting your mistakes. We were calm and happily working on defensive postures. That is, up until I was distracted by Bakugo's yelling, "Do you know ASL or just JSL?" I look over, and realize that he is partnered with Rin, "Cause I know ASL, and it's real fucking annoying when you are just miming actions to me like I'm a Goddamn child."

I barely had the time to wonder why the hell Bakugo knew american sign language before Rin was signing in rapid fire ASL, "Alright asshole, your body awareness and footwork are pathetic. You are more than your hands."

To my infinite surprise, Bakugo's lip curled up into that snarling smirk before he lunged at her again, and it didn't even falter when she took his legs out from underneath him in one move and put him on the ground. It did, however, when she stood over him, smirking and signed, "You know that without your quirk, you wouldn't stand a chance against the Broccoli boy, right?"

Then, he raged. Screaming and throwing a hard right hook at her. Not a sparring punch, a real one, but just like Izuku before her, she grabs it and aikido flips him to the ground, As he glares up at her with a snarl, she signs down, "Fighting angry means fighting stupid. You can be better than that." She extends a hand down, her face stern and collected as usual, and I thought he would slap her hand away just like he does Izuku's but he takes it. Maybe it's because he can see the same rage in her eyes that lies in his own.

"I can't tell if that is going well or not." Hagakure speaks beside me as we watch Rin kick the top of Bakugo's right thigh with a snarl on her face. The fact that he stumbles proves his balance is off. She tells him as much, but in much cruder signs.

"It's better than expected." I respond. "I guess he respects that she doesn't put up with his shit."

She turns back to me with a smile, and I wonder if anyone, including her, even knows what it looks like. "I hope that someday I am even half the fighter than you three are."

I smile back, "You just gotta practice. And remember that you don't have to be as combat oriented as us either. Your quirk makes you great at reconnaissance. You'll have to know how to fight if something goes wrong, but you should probably avoid it if you can."

Her brows furrow as we fall back into light sparring as she continues, "Isn't Rin going to be a recon hero? I mean, she makes webs like a spider, you'd think she wants to be sneaky, but she's over there throwing _Bakugo_ around."

I laugh lightly, "She likes playing defense. You know how Aikido works?"

"Sort of?" She shrugs,

"It's about using your opponent's momentum and power against them. That's what Rin does really well. When she uses her quirk, she can string up an arm and redirect momentum like second instinct. She doesn't pack a lot of power herself. If you notice, she hasn't really gone on the offensive with Bakugo. She's just using his own strength to beat him." I block one of Hagakure's jabs, "And you can't really judge your fighting to theirs. Chizue and Rin have been fighting for real their entire lives. I started martial arts when I was young because my quirk was absolutely useless for combat and I wanted to be a hero with Izuku. That is what UA and hero training is for. And the twins and I are happy to help. They never really went to school, so I think the idea of homework and exams is freaking them out, so you could help them with that."

She smiles brightly, _she's really pretty._ "Thanks! I appreciate it, and I'm not the top of the class, by any means, but I am happy to do what I can for them whether they teach me to fight or not."

"We need to stick together as a class. Help each other out with our limitations and get better together...remember that your arm rotates as you punch in a straight jab..." I demonstrate a proper martial arts punch, "It also helps to punch on an exhale."

"Thanks! You're the best!" She chirps as she throws a much better right punch at my block. _But I'm really not. I wish I were. Maybe then I wouldn't be freaking the fuck out about our impending class field trip._

* * *

I knew what was coming, but the very next day, just your average mild weathered Friday, Aizawa came to Toshinori's apartment to pick us up because we couldn't afford to be late again. The morning was a blur, because when Aizawa picked us up, I could still be in denial. I could pretend that he wasn't there to make sure we didn't miss the bus. I could pretend it was just a normal school day. But the second we were told to get in our hero costumes and head out to the parking lot, it was as if my soul had exited my body. The sweat on my skin felt cold and it was hard to breathe. I don't think my body even left autopilot until thirteen was nearing the end of their speech and I knew I had to do something. Tapping Chizue's arm so she would look at me and mouthing instructions I barely even thought about beforehand. Maybe It was the way I held myself or the unwavering trust she has in me, but she didn't hesitate as she moved through the students, gathering quirks. Ending her path at Aizawa's side as he glares at her in apprehension, up until the moment that his unease multiplies tenfold and we both notice the mass of new people popping up in the plaza. I inhale what feels like my first breathe in hours, knowing that Chizue knows to be prepared, and that she cares for our class and our mentor. Maybe, just _maybe,_ we'll all make it out of this alright.

* * *

NOTES:::

Seriously though, yes, this chapter is sorta short. I apologize for that, but the USJ is next and I don't want to have part of it be in the exposition I just want the USJ chapters to be USJ chapters, ya know? So! I have a lot of things I need to say. 1) I'm not dead! I haven't forgotten this story, and I haven't abandoned it. I don't really abandon any of my stories. I still write on them when inspiration strikes, and I really do enjoy writing this one, so it may be a while between chapters, but I won't give up. I have too many plans! 2) If you aren't caught up in the manga and don't want manga spoilers, you really shouldn't be reading this story, but if you really don't want spoilers, now is the time to back out. Like, literally, right now. In these notes, cause my third point will contain spoilers. (And the next chapter is going to be a spoiler party) 3) The reason this chapter took so long to get out is because this was going to be sort of a "lock-in" point. I.e. up until the USJ, as new chapters were released in the manga and I learned new things, they didn't actually contradict what I had planned for the story and I could just work them in. I had a feeling that something big was coming in the manga, (I THOUGHT it would be confirmation that Dabi is a Todoroki, which is a theory you can pry from my cold dead hands) But as you know. It wasn't. The big thing that I was waiting for was the Kurogiri reveal, and once that dropped, not only did my Bucky Barnes loving soul shatter into a million tiny pieces, but my plans for this story only got more cemented and planned. I am glad I waited for that truth. Up until that, I didn't know what to do with Kurogirl. I didn't know if he was a product of shitty circumstance like the other league members or if he was like AFO's fucked up doctor. 4) Guys, you have no idea how excited I am for things that are upcoming chapter is where things get fun. It's the point of no return. The point of true canon divergence, and I am so fucking ready to write through it and share it with you. 5) Huge thanks to my two 'Betas' (I use that in the loosest form of the word) I basically just yell incoherant ideas at them, and they squee and I squee and then I freak out and word vomit, and those ideas will eventually be a part of this story, but they are so fucking necessary to my insanity, they don't even know. Thank you, Lilaccoloursplash and Ajestice. You're the best, and probably the only reason I have enough confidence in my framework for the story that I feel like I can finally write the USJ arc and cement my ideas in stone. Thank you. 6) Thanks to the readers! To the ones that have been around since the beginning and probably thought I was dead! To those of you that just found this story, saw that it hadn't been updated in 6 months, probably assumed it would never be touched again and still thought "I am prepared to suffer" and read it any way. And to all the readers in between, you don't let me forget this story, because everytime I get an email about a comment or a kudo, I remember it. I remember you, and what I want the story to be, and you give me the motivation to write.

Love, Jumb


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